PRIME MINISTER

Food Supply

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to paragraph 3.50 of the National Security Strategy of the United Kingdom, Cm 7291, what food the Government stores as a reserve; and how much food has been stored in the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK does not hold state-owned emergency food stocks. The Government manages its response to a disruption in supplies of food through a DEFRA database identifying where food stocks are held using the DEFRA Agriculture Census and a biennial food survey carried out by IGD. The food industry provides this commercially sensitive information on the basis that it is treated as confidential.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Departmental Press Subscriptions

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on newspapers and periodicals in each of the last three years.

Liam Byrne: Because of the amount of data involved and their disparate nature an answer could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Metropolitan Police: Forensic Science

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Metropolitan Police spent on forensic science services in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: This information is not held centrally as it is a matter for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.

Passports: Interviews

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passport interview offices for first-time passport customers are fully operational; on which date each office became operational; and how many staff are employed at each office.

Jacqui Smith: As of 28 April 2008 there are 66 fully operational passport interview offices. The schedule in the table gives the latest dates they became fully operational and the full-time equivalent (FTE) staff employed at each office are as follows:
	
		
			  Opening date  Office  FTEs in post as at end of March 2008 
			  2007   
			 9 July Newport 11.00 
			
			 16 July Peterborough 4.50 
			
			 20 August Belfast 7.00 
			  Glasgow 16.91 
			
			 27 August Newcastle 13.67 
			
			 10 September Manchester 17.50 
			  Birmingham 22.51 
			
			 24 September London 49.75 
			
			 8 October Dover 3.85 
			  Leeds 14.50 
			  Plymouth 5.27 
			  Portsmouth 8.50 
			
			 15 October Liverpool 13.00 
			  Middlesbrough 7.00 
			  Stoke on Trent 4.50 
			
			 22 October Lincoln 6.26 
			  Swansea 7.00 
			
			 29 October Cheltenham 4.50 
			  Sheffield 13.00 
			  Yeovil 2.69 
			
			 31 October Newport (IOW) 2.12 
			
			 5 November Northampton 6.00 
			
			 12 November Carlisle 2.29 
			  Crawley 6.77 
			  Coleraine 3.46 
			
			 19 November Armagh 2.29 
			  Bournemouth 5.00 
			  Shrewsbury 3.46 
			  Wrexham 6.00 
			  Ipswich 5.00 
			
			 26 November Scarborough 2.29 
			  Stirling 3.46 
			  York 3.08 
			  Aberystwyth 1.12 
			
			 3 December Derby 10.00 
			  Edinburgh 7.00 
			
			 10 December Chelmsford 7.50 
			  Luton 9.00 
			  Aberdeen 3.08 
			  Maidstone 5.56 
			  Omagh 1.78 
			
			 17 December Ripon 2.12 
			  South Molton 2.04 
			  Exeter 4.61 
			  Reading 10.50 
			  Blackburn 6.50 
			  Inverness 3.08 
			  Kingston on Hull 6.50 
			  Redruth 2.04 
			  Warwick 4.23 
			  Bristol 6.50 
			  St. Austell 2.78 
			  Swindon 4.31 
			
			 24 December Kendal 5.69 
			  Bury St. Edmunds 2.29 
			  Dumfries 1.78 
			  Wick 1.12 
			  Sleaford 1.02 
			
			 31 December Andover 4.52 
			
			  2008   
			 7 January Leicester 6.50 
			
			 14 January Oxford 3.94 
			
			 21 January Berwick upon Tweed 2.56 
			  Dundee 3.50 
			
			 28 January Selkirk 2.84 
			  Kings Lynn 4.02 
			  Norwich 4.50

Written Questions: Government Responses

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer question 196822 on terrorist activity, tabled on 26 March.

Jacqui Smith: I replied to the hon. Member on 17 June 2008,  Official Report, column 844W.

WALES

Departmental Buildings

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many  (a) new builds and  (b) major refurbishments were completed by his Department for a cost in excess of £0.5 million in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08 to which the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method or equivalent was applied; how many such buildings were assessed as (A) pass, (B) good, (C) very good and (D) excellent; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: None.

Departmental Buildings

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many  (a) new builds and  (b) major refurbishments for a cost in excess of £0.5 million were completed by his Department in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08.

Paul Murphy: None.

TREASURY

Armed Conflict: Afghanistan

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Government spent on the war in Afghanistan in each year since 2001.

Yvette Cooper: The net additional costs of operations in Afghanistan each year since 2001 to 31 March 2007, is recorded in the Ministry of Defence's annual reports and accounts.

Car Allowances

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the authorised mileage rates for business travel under the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments Scheme.

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to implement a percentage increase in HM Revenue and Customs mileage allowance bands in line with increases in petrol price rises.

Angela Eagle: The Government are aware of the pressures that motorists—including those who use their cars for business travel—are under as a result of high fuel prices, caused by conditions in the international oil market. However, the cost of driving can depend on a number of factors, not just fuel prices and decisions on the rate of approved mileage payments are taken as part of the Budget cycle. The Chancellor announced in Budget 2008 that the Government would maintain the tax-free mileage allowance (AMAPs) rates and thresholds at current levels.

Certified Public Accountants Association

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether the Certified Public Accountants Association has responsibility for regulating its members under the money laundering regulations; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the Certified Public Accountants Association on the regulation of its members under the money laundering regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 30 June 2008
	The Certified Public Accountants Association (CPAA) is not a supervisory professional body for the purposes of the money laundering regulations 2007. 22 supervisory professional bodies are listed in schedule 3 of the regulations.
	My officials have corresponded with the CPAA during 2007 and 2008, beginning in June and August 2007, explaining the policy approach taken on supervisory arrangements and the appointment of supervisors, as set out in public consultations on the implementation of the third money laundering directive in July 2006 and January 2007. The CPAA did not apply for supervisory status during either consultation period.
	As a matter of good practice, the Treasury intends to review the supervisory arrangements in 2009, once the regulations have been in force for a reasonable period.
	Although the CPAA is not a supervisor for the purposes of the money laundering regulations 2007, they may work with the relevant supervisors to assist their members' compliance with the regulations.

Children: Day Care

Karen Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) employers offering and  (b) employees taking up childcare vouchers; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: There are no official data collected on the number of employers who offer and employees who take up child care vouchers. Employers are not required to report these data to HMRC.
	Research carried out by the National Centre for Social Research for HMRC in 2006 estimated that 2.5 per cent. of organisations offered employer supported child care and that 36 per cent. of employees had access to this provision. This report was published in December 2006 and is available on the HMRC website at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/research-report23.htm
	HMRC considers that these figures are likely to have increased since this research was carried out.

Corporation Tax: Tax Collection

Greg Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the cost of collecting corporation tax in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: The costs of collecting corporation tax are shown on page 31 of the HMRC Autumn Performance Report 2007. The report can be found on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/autumn-report-2007.pdf

Economic Situation

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the performance of  (a) the Northern Ireland economy and  (b) the economy of the rest of the UK in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: The Government published in April 2008 the review of Northern Ireland competitiveness by Sir David Varney, which showed that the Northern Ireland economy is performing well, although there is scope for further reform to improve economic performance.

EU: Finance

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what UK participation there will be in the TARGET2 infrastructure of the Eurozone; and what estimate he has made of the cost of any UK changeover.

Kitty Ussher: Following consultation with the UK members of the TARGET system, the Bank of England took a strategic decision in October 2005 that the provision of euro inter-bank payment facilities in the TARGET2 system was a matter for euro-area central banks. The Bank of England accesses TARGET2, in respects of its own payments, indirectly through De Nederlandsche Bank.

Euro Preparations Unit

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Government Departments and agencies have reported updates to their Euro changeover plans to his Department's Euro Preparations Unit in the last 18 months.

Kitty Ussher: It is for each Government Department and agency to ensure they have made appropriate preparations for a possible future euro changeover. Departments and agencies are not required to report updates to their euro changeover plans to the Treasury.

Excise Duties: Tax Collection

Greg Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the cost of collecting excise duty in the latest period for which figures are available.

Angela Eagle: Section 4, table 1 of the HMRC Autumn Report sets out the costs to HMRC involved in the collection of each tax including excise. A copy of the latest report can be found online at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/autumn-report-2007.pdf
	The 2007-08 report should be published in autumn of this year.

Food: Prices

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the effect on global food prices of food subsidies in  (a) the EU and  (b) developing countries.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 23 June 2008
	 The different elements of the current CAP—tariffs, export subsidies, and production subsidies—affect food prices in different ways. The result of all these elements combined is that the EU modestly lowers average global prices at a significant cost to EU consumers and taxpayers, while significantly disincentivising production elsewhere.
	As highlighted in the June 2008 "Global Commodities: A Long Term Vision for Stable, Secure and Sustainable Global Market" Treasury publication, a number of countries outside of the EU have responded to high food prices by introducing policies aimed at reducing prices domestically. These have ranged from generally positive measures such as reducing import tariffs, to costly consumer subsidies and harmful export restrictions. This is why we joined other G8 Finance Ministers in calling inter alia for a removal of supply-side constraints and export restrictions and a replacement of general food subsidies in developing countries with well-targeted help for the poorest.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which groups will not be fully compensated by his proposals to compensate taxpayers who were affected by the abolition of the 10 pence tax band.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 June 2008,  Official Report, column 108W, to my right hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field).

Iraq Conflict

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Government has spent on the war in Iraq in each financial year since hostilities began.

Yvette Cooper: The net additional costs of operations in Iraq each year since hostilities began to 31 March 2007, is recorded in the Ministry of Defence's annual reports and accounts.

National Income: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what level of gross domestic product was recorded in the NUTS area most closely corresponding to  (a) Peterborough city council area and  (b) Peterborough constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Yvette Cooper: Peterborough is the NUTS 3 level region which most closely corresponds to the Peterborough city council and Peterborough constituency areas. Office for National Statistics (ONS) do not publish regional GDP but do publish estimates of regional gross value added (GVA) for the NUTS 3 areas, for the period 1995 to 2005.
	The latest data for NUTS 3 area levels are for 2005. Following are the GVA levels at NUTS 3 for Peterborough:
	
		
			  NUTS 3 GVA at current basic prices for Peterborough 
			   £ million 
			 1995 1,870 
			 1996 1,995 
			 1997 2,138 
			 1998 2,282 
			 1999 2,366 
			 2000 2,425 
			 2001 2,549 
			 2002 2,728 
			 2003 2,971 
			 2004 3,211 
			 2005 3,358 
			  Source: ONS—Gross Value Added (GVA) is Gross Domestic Product (GDP) less taxes (plus subsidies) on products.

Revenue and Customs: Crewe

Edward Timpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average length of service is of staff in the Debt Management and Banking department at the HM Revenue and Customs office in Crewe.

Jane Kennedy: The average length of service of HM Revenue and Customs staff in Debt Management and Banking office at Crewe is currently 23.7 years.

Welfare Tax Credits: EU Nationals

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many claims for (a) working tax credits and  (b) child tax credits were made by citizens of other EU member states resident in Peterborough constituency in the last financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 15 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1236W.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Data Protection

Julian Lewis: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission whether the staff who will be given access to documentation submitted by hon. Members to the Parliamentary authorities to undertake work to redact personal information from information to be published in autumn 2008 will be permanent or temporary staff; what security checks will have been carried out on those staff; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: Quality assurance and editing will be undertaken by security-cleared permanent staff as will any further revisions after hon. Members have had an opportunity to check their information. However, the House does not itself have the capacity to carry out all the work required. It is therefore planned that the scanning of some 1.3 million documents and first stage redaction to remove details such as addresses, telephone numbers, banking details and account numbers will be undertaken under secure conditions by a contractor familiar with providing services to Government and Parliament whose staff have been security cleared. Arrangements for providing additional staff required by the contractor for this project will be agreed between the contractor and the House authorities. The Parliamentary Security Co-ordinator and the Serjeant at Arms have been consulted, and their approval of the arrangements will be sought before the work goes ahead. Staff of the House will be involved in monitoring the whole process.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Departmental Planning Permission

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what  (a) planning applications and  (b) licensing applications the Electoral Commission has submitted in the last 24 months.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has not made any planning applications or licensing applications in the last 24 months.

Labour Party: Finance

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission on what date the Labour Party deposited its accounts for 2007 with the Electoral Commission.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that the Labour party submitted its 2007 statement of accounts on 27 June 2008.

Political Parties: Finance

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how many donations to regulated donees were notified to the Commission late in  (a) 2001,  (b) 2002,  (c) 2005,  (d) 2007 and  (e) January 2008.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has retained most original hard copies of donation returns from regulated donees from 2001 onwards and all original hard copies of donation returns from regulated donees from 2007 onwards. On the basis of available returns, the information sought by the hon. Member is as shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Late 
			 2001 54 
			 2002 68 
			 2003 52 
			 2004 85 
			 2005 37 
			 2006 86 
			 2007 112 
			 January 2008 33 
			 Total 527 
		
	
	Details of all donations reported to the Commission including the name of the donor, the amount and the date that the donation was accepted, but not including the date notified to the Commission, can be found on the Commission's website at:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/regulatory-issues/regdonregulateddonee.cfm

Political Parties: Finance

Frank Field: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what assessment the Speaker's Committee has made of the adequacy of information published by the Electoral Commission on numbers of donations reported late by regulated donees; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Viggers: The Speaker's Committee has a number of specific, statutory functions in relation to the Electoral Commission. It has made no assessment of the kind referred to by the hon. Member.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many officials work in his Department.

David Cairns: Staffing numbers in the Scotland Office are published in the Office's Annual Report, a copy of which has been placed in the House Library.

Departmental Official Hospitality

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1062W, on departmental official hospitality, when he expects the list for hospitality received by senior civil servants in his Department in 2007 to be published.

David Cairns: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster gave him on 7 May 2008,  Official Report, column 885W.

TRANSPORT

Airports: Death

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many deaths occurred in UK airports in each year since 1997; and how many of these were attended by  (a) the ambulance service and  (b) port medical inspectors or other medical practitioners at airports in a professional capacity before death occurred.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Aviation: Summertime

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will commission research into the effects on morning levels of freight transport and aviation noise levels of a change to British Summer Time in winter and double British Summer Time in summer.

Jim Fitzpatrick: There are no current plans to commission research on the effect of British Summer Time or Double British Summer Time.

Dartford Tunnel: Queen Elizabeth II Bridge

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the net revenue from crossing tolls at the Dartford River Crossing was in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 30 June 2008
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 19 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 551-52W, to the hon. Member for Carmarthen, East and Dinefwr.

Dartford Tunnel: Queen Elizabeth II Bridge

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which transport projects have been funded or committed to be funded by the net revenues received from the tolls at the Dartford River Crossing.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 30 June 2008
	The Transport Act 2000 requires that all net revenues from the charging scheme at Dartford-Thurrock river crossing are spent on transport.
	Gross revenues from the charging regime at the crossing come to the Department to add to what is available to spend on transport. The revenues are not kept in a separate pot for specific projects.
	Since 2003, when the charging scheme was introduced, the Department has made available £1 million per year to Kent county council, and between £0.75 million and £1 million per year to Thurrock council, to help deliver local transport projects. This is in recognition of the impact of the crossing on local residents. This arrangement will cease with the introduction of the local discount scheme later this year.

London to Cardiff Railway Line

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it is her policy to support the development of a high-speed rail link from London to Cardiff.

Tom Harris: The Secretary of State invited Network Rail to begin work to develop longer-term options for the railway network. As part of this, on 23 June 2008 Network Rail announced a strategic review of the case for new rail lines. The review will consider five of Network Rail's strategic routes, north and west of London: Chiltern, East Coast, West Coast, Great Western and Midland Main Lines. It is too early to say what the results of this study will be or where any potential new lines might go. The study is expected to be complete in July 2009.

Motor Vehicles: Fees and Charges

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if she will make it her policy to link increases in changes in motoring-related fees to rate of inflation measures by the Consumer Prices Index; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what the annual percentage increase in the level of fees set by Statutory Instruments Nos  (a) 1581,  (b) 1577 and  (c) 1578 of 2008 are; and what account she took of the rate of inflation in setting these levels.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In setting motoring-related fees consideration is made of the underlying inflationary position, but Government Trading Funds, such as the Vehicle Operator Services Agency (VOSA), have a statutory obligation to recover the full costs incurred in line with the Trading Funds Act 1973. Therefore to tie such fees to the Consumer Price Index would prove too restrictive an approach.
	The broad level of increase in the fees of the Statutory Instruments (SI) in question is 5 per cent. Some individual fees have increased by greater than this percentage as a result of rounding to the nearest pound. Inflation was one of a number of factors taken into account when setting the level of the fee. Other factors included supporting better targeting of VOSA's enforcement activities and continuing refurbishment of equipment and facilities. Further details are available in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Statutory Instruments laid before Parliament.

Noise: Roads

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what estimate her Department has made of the changes in traffic noise levels associated with A roads in  (a) Hampshire and  (b) England over the last 10 years;
	(2)  what funding is made available to local authorities to reduce the effect of traffic noise from A roads which are near to residential areas;
	(3)  what account she has taken of the effect on levels of road traffic noise from A roads which results from house building targets; and what assessment has been made of the effect of such levels on existing communities.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 25 June 2008
	The management of local roads, including decisions on which road treatment to use, are a matter for each local highway authority. This Department provides funding to English local authorities (outside London) through the Local Transport Plan settlement, which they can use on road schemes such as those to reduce the effect of traffic noise. They can also use the Revenue Support Grant provided by the Department for Communities and local government. Neither funding is ring fenced and authorities have discretion how to spend their allocations based upon their local priorities. Funding for highways in London is a matter for the Mayor.
	The Highways Agency has not undertaken work to estimate changes in traffic noise levels on the strategic road network over the last 10 years. However, the Environmental Noise (England) Regulations 2006 (as amended) include provisions to improve the information available to the public about noise and its effect. The regulations require the preparation of strategic noise maps for urban areas, major roads, major railways and major airports. Following the completion of mapping an action plan is to be drawn up to manage noise and reduce it where possible. Mapping and action plans are to be prepared on a five year cycle. All mapping for this current cycle has been completed. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs plan to prepare guidance and consult on drafting action plans later this year.
	The noise impact of proposed housing developments, including any impact on road traffic noise, is a matter to be determined at the local level. In the assessment of a planning application, noise nuisance may be a material consideration and taken into account when weighing up the merits of a case.

Parking: Fines

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many appeals were made against the issuing of parking fines to the Independent Parking Adjudicator in the most recent year for which figures are available, broken down by area, and of those how many  (a) were upheld,  (b) were quashed,  (c) were referred back to the issuing authority for further consideration and  (d) are outstanding;
	(2)  how many penalty charge notices in respect of alleged parking infringements were issued by local authorities in each year since 1993.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 30 June 2008
	This information is not held centrally by the Government, but the figures for the number of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued by local authorities, appeals made against the issuing of PCNs and appeals upheld are set out in the annual reports of the Parking Adjudicators, Parking and Traffic Appeals Service (PATAS) (for London) and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) (for outside London).
	The reports of the PATAS are available at:
	www.parkingandtrafficappeals.gov.uk/annualreports.htm
	The reports of the TPT (formerly NPAS) are available at:
	www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk/site/scripts/google_results.php?g=Annual+Report&x=11&y=9

Roads: Accidents

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cases where drivers involved in reported road traffic accidents failed to stop there were in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The numbers of vehicles involved in reported personal injury road accidents that failed to stop (i.e. hit and run) in 2003 to 2007 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2003 27,161 
			 2004 24,313 
			 2005 22,918 
			 2006 21,562 
			 2007 19,973

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the combined annual budget is for road and related infrastructure improvements for the South West; and on what criteria such funding is allocated.

Rosie Winterton: The Department for Transport's budget for 2008-09 includes £212 million expected to be spent on support for road and related infrastructure improvements in the south-west. This consists of £169,158 million block grants to south-west local authorities for highway maintenance and integrated transport, £39,208 million for major schemes, each generally costing above £5 million, and approximately £4 million grant paid in respect of recently detrunked roads. The figures exclude minor improvements on strategic roads and investment funded by PFI credits.
	Block grants are calculated on the basis of formulae reflecting need: details of the formulae used and their rationale can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/ltp/capital/ltpsettle07/
	Grants to authorities are not ring fenced, and actual spend on road improvement is the responsibility of individual authorities.
	Estimated spend on major projects reflects advice from the region on priorities to be funded within their Regional Funding Allocation. Regional allocations are based on a formula reflecting their population.

Traffic Offences: Cameras

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance she has issued to local authorities on making traffic camera video footage available on the internet; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department for Transport has not issued guidance to local authorities on making traffic camera video footage available on the internet.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Armed Forces

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the strength of the  (a) Afghan National Army and  (b) Afghan National Police Force is.

Des Browne: The latest available figures indicate that the current assigned strengths of the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police are around 58,000 and 80,000 respectively.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average annual pay is for  (a) military and  (b) civilian ground vehicle crew members undertaking fuel resupply duties in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Bob Ainsworth: The information required to calculate the average annual salary of military personnel currently undertaking fuel resupply duties in Helmand Province is not held centrally, and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate costs. However, an indicative annual remuneration package, including pension benefits, for a member of the armed forces undertaking fuel resupply in Afghanistan would be a minimum of approximately £25,000. Civilian contractors undertaking fuel resupply in Afghanistan are employed under NATO contracts, and the Ministry of Defence does not therefore have access to detailed remuneration arrangements for individual drivers.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel from each country were serving in the International Security Assistance Force at the latest date for which information is available.

Des Browne: We do not comment on the numbers of deployed troops from other nations, which are matters for the countries concerned. However, they are listed with periodic updates on the International Security Assistance Force website, which can be found at:
	http://www.nato.int/isaf/index.html

Armed Forces: North West

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many regiments have been based in the North West over the last three years; and how many are planned to be based there in the next three years.

Bob Ainsworth: The following units have been based in the north west over the last 18 months:
	
		
			  Serial  Unit  Location 
			 1 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (2 YORKS) Preston 
			 2 2nd Battalion The Rifles (2 RIFLES) Preston (up to August 2007) 
			 3 4th Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (4 LANCS) Preston 
			 4 103 (Lancashire Artillery Volunteers) Royal Artillery (Volunteers) (103 Regt RA(V)) St. Helens 
			 5 75 Engineer Regiment (Volunteers) (75 Engr Regt (V)) Failsworth, Manchester 
			 6 156 (North West) Transport Regiment The Royal Logistics Corps (156 Tpt Regt RLC (V)) Liverpool 
			 7 33rd (Lancashire and Cheshire) Signal Regiment (Volunteers) (33 Sig Regt (V)) Liverpool 
			 8 5 General Support Medical Regiment (5 GS Med Regt) Preston 
			 9 207 Field Hospital (Volunteer) (207 Fd Hosp(V)) Manchester 
			 10 208 Field Hospital (Volunteer) (208 Fd Hosp(V)) Liverpool 
		
	
	Of these units 2 YORKS is due to move to Cyprus in December 2010.
	The following units are due to move to the north west in the next three years:
	
		
			  Seria1  Unit  Location 
			 11 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster' s Regiment (2 LANCS) Preston (from December 2010) 
			 12 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh (The Royal Welch Fusiliers) (1R Welsh) Chester (from August 2008) 
			 13 253 General Support Medical Regiment (Volunteers) (253 GS Med Regt(V)) Elements will be based in Preston 
			 14 254 General Support Medical Regiment (Volunteers) (254 GS Med Regt(V)) Elements will be based in Preston 
		
	
	Data on the units located in the north west before January 2007 are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Vehicles

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under which vehicle category the Husky mine detection/clearance vehicle falls; and under what conditions it is classed as a C vehicle.

Bob Ainsworth: The Army does not use the Husky mine detection/clearance vehicles, it does not therefore have a category and class for MOD use.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what  (a) ventilation and  (b) cooling systems other than air conditioning are incorporated into the Panther Command and Liaison vehicle;
	(2)  whether the Panther Command and Liaison vehicle has  (a) flaps and  (b) windows which open to allow ventilation.

Bob Ainsworth: The Panther vehicle is fitted with a standard air conditioning unit, hence there are no additional ventilation and cooling systems, flaps or windows.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether supplies of the 4-wheeled Cougar vehicle, when converted to a Ridgback, will be sent to theatre in batches immediately they are available.

Bob Ainsworth: We are seeking to ensure that Ridgback is deployed as a complete operational capability, with doctrine defined, personnel trained, and the infrastructure in theatre complete. Current plans see the first batches arriving in theatre in spring 2009 although we continue to explore the possibility and requirement to bring this date forward.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to replace the Snatch Land Rover with another vehicle of similar size and capacity.

Bob Ainsworth: The introduction of vehicles such as Mastiff has already allowed us to replace Snatch in a number of roles. The introduction of Ridgback in 2009 will limit the use of Snatch further. While we continually review our requirements for protected vehicles and the roles in which they are used in theatre, there will continue to be a requirement for some vehicles of the size and capacity of Snatch. Any alternative vehicle would inevitably have similar capability in terms of protection and mobility.

Army: Recruitment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many applications to join the Army were made in each year since 1997; and how many applicants were successful in each year.

Bob Ainsworth: The information is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Officers  Soldiers 
			   Applicants  Enlisted( 1)  Applicants  Enlisted( 1) 
			 1997-98 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1998-99 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1999-2000 2,046 n/a 35,706 n/a 
			 2000-01 1,925 n/a 30,631 n/a 
			 2001-02 1,893 682 33,944 n/a 
			 2002-03 1,984 702 36,104 n/a 
			 2003-04 2,265 747 33,801 13,650 
			 2004-05 1,795 725 29,413 10,578 
			 2005-06 1,913 733 35,026 11,454 
			 2006-07 1,845 729 38,442 12,660 
			 2007-08(2) 1,473 616 23,492 11,678 
			 (1) Those who have commenced phase 1 training as a soldier or the commissioning course at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as an officer. (2) Eight months only.  Note: 2007-08 soldier application figures are incomplete due to problems encountered with the introduction of a new IT system and the figures cover only eight months of data.

Bombs

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2008,  Official Report, column 556W, on bombs, what military advice he has received from the armed forces on methods of disposal of cluster munitions since the Dublin Conference.

Bob Ainsworth: Since the Dublin Conference, the Defence Ministers have received advice on stockpile figures for the two munition variants that are due to be disposed of in accordance with the adopted Dublin agreement. Methods of disposal are still under consideration and no specific advice has therefore been provided at this time.

Departmental ICT

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value of his Department's computer systems  (a) was at the time of purchase and  (b) is now.

Bob Ainsworth: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 28 January 2008,  Official Report, column 35W, which addressed the number of IT systems in the Department at that time.

Departmental Pay

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the average pay per hour worked by  (a) permanent and  (b) temporary staff in his Department in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by pay band.

Derek Twigg: As of June 2008, average pay per hour for the Ministry of Defence's principal civilian grades is broken down as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			  Permanent staff  
			 SCS Band 3 and above 64.63 
			 SCS Band 2 43.73 
			 SCS Band 1 30.81 
			 Band B1 25.64 
			 Band B2 21.09 
			 Band C1 15.96 
			 Band C2 12.81 
			 Band D 10.29 
			 Band E1 8.09 
			 Band E2 6.76 
			 Skill zone 4 10.21 
			 Skill zone 3 8.58 
			 Skill zone 2 7.58 
			 Skill zone 1 6.92 
			   
			  Temporary staff  
			 SCS Band 3 and above 81.46 
			 SCS Band 2 57.64 
			 SCS Band 1 45.09 
			 Band B1 29.70 
			 Band B2 23.11 
			 Band C1 16.35 
			 Band C2 12.44 
			 Band D 10.05 
			 Band E1 7.19 
			 Band E2 6.22 
			 Skill zone 4 10.81 
			 Skill zone 3 8.16 
			 Skill zone 2 7.37 
			 Skill zone 1 6.64 
		
	
	The figures exclude trading fund agencies and specialist grades (e.g. medical grades).

Departmental Public Expenditure

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 (Column 7227, 2006/07), what the expected level, in near cash terms is of  (a) negative resource DEL income and  (b) negative capital DEL income to be retained by his Department for the financial year 2008-09.

Bob Ainsworth: The Department's expected forecast of near cash Operating and Non Operating Appropriations in Aid to be retained are set out in the 2008-09 MOD main estimates, which are:
	Resource Operating Appropriations in Aid—£1,243 million
	Non Operating Appropriations in Aid—£215 million
	These figures will be updated in the winter and spring supplementary estimates to reflect the latest forecasts of Operating and Non Operating receipts from our top level budget holders (TLBs) and an additional £85 million of Non-Operating Appropriations-in-Aid have been identified since main estimates were prepared and will be included in the supplementary estimates.
	These are estimates, and as such are subject to a number of variable factors, such as property prices and levels of assets disposals.

Departmental Sick Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much sick pay to staff in his Department cost in the last five years for which figures are available.

Derek Twigg: Information on the departmental cost of sick pay to staff is not centrally held.

Departmental Vetting

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of successful applicants for jobs in his Department are subjected to a criminal records check; how many  (a) successful applicants and  (b) criminal records checks there were in each of the last 10 years; how many successful applicants were found to have a criminal record after a criminal records check took place in each of the last 10 years; whether the selection of successful candidates to be subjected to a criminal records check is random or targeted; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Approximately 90 per cent. of MOD posts in the MOD require National Security Vetting which includes a full criminal record check. This requires candidates to declare all criminal convictions, including spent convictions. Pre-employment checks on the remainder require all candidates to declare unspent convictions, and random checks are made on these declarations.
	Inquiries carried out by the Defence vetting agency indicate that between 5 per cent. to 10 per cent. of MOD applicants for National Security Vetting show an adverse trace on the Police National Computer. Such traces indicate a record against the individual and show any kind of conviction, ranging from juvenile offences to the most serious crimes. A trace may also indicate a police caution, that the person is wanted or missing, or that there is an impending prosecution. While a proportion of the traces will indicate a criminal record, it is not possible to give a definitive figure, nor state how many individuals were subsequently employed, without examining individual cases at disproportionate cost.

EU Defence Policy

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Government's policy is on  (a) the creation of a standing EU budget for funding EU military operations and  (b) other proposed reforms to the funding procedures of EU military-led operations.

Des Browne: The majority of costs of EU military operations are paid by the member states contributing troops and assets, on a 'costs lie where they fall' basis. But there is an EU arrangement for the funding of limited agreed common costs of EU military missions, the ATHENA mechanism. Under this mechanism, decisions on the common costs of individual operations require unanimity among EU member states, on a case-by-case basis. We believe that this mechanism is effective for the funding of EU military operations; therefore we would not support any reform of this mechanism.

EU Defence Policy

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Government's policy is on the creation of a single EU Strategic Directorate in Brussels to carry out EU  (a) military and  (b) civil missions.

Des Browne: The Government have not seen any proposal for the creation of a single EU Strategic Directorate in Brussels to carry out EU military or civilian missions. However, we support the need for greater coherence between civilian and military components in crisis management, both within and between EU missions or in theatres where international organisations such as the EU, NATO and the UN operate alongside each other. We would therefore consider carefully any proposals for improving such coherence. We would not support proposals for an EU military Operation HQ.

EU Defence Policy

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Government's policy is on the creation of an independent European Union standing strategic planning capability.

Des Browne: The EU military staff, created by the treaty of Nice in 2001, already provides the European Union with an independent standing strategic planning capability. Its military officers are all seconded from EU member states.

EU Defence Policy

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2008,  Official Report, column 721W, on EU defence policy, whether his Department plans to increase the number of its  (a) military personnel and  (b) civilian staff attached to the (i) European Union military staff and (ii) European Defence Agency.

Des Browne: There are no plans to increase the number of military personnel or civilian staff attached to the European Union Military Staff.
	All vacancies in the European Defence Agency, both civilian and military, are subject to open competition across all participating member states. The numbers of British military or MOD civilian staff are therefore likely to vary slightly over time as vacancies arise.

EU Rapid Reaction Force

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with his French counterpart on developing a 60,000 strong EU rapid reaction force;
	(2)  what the Government's policy is on the creation of a 60,000 strong EU rapid reaction force.

Des Browne: There are no proposals for the creation of a 60,000 strong EU rapid reaction force, nor have I had any discussions about creating one.
	The UK continues to support the Helsinki Headline Goal that all member states agreed to in 1999, which calls for the EU member states to be able to:
	"deploy within 60 days and sustain for at least one year military forces of up to 50,000 to 60,000 persons capable of the full range of Petersberg tasks."
	This represents an overarching target for member states' collective level of capability, from which the EU's capability development framework takes its lead. It does not imply the creation of a standing EU force of any kind. Any commitment to an EU-led operation is voluntary and is a decision for national Governments to make on a case by case basis.

Ex-servicemen: Military Decorations

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the proportion of veterans who have been awarded a veteran's badge; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: There are no accurate figures for the current veteran population however it is generally accepted as around 4.5 million. We have awarded an HM Armed Forces Veterans Badge to approximately 602,000 individuals. We have now extended eligibility to all veterans. This figure is growing as the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency are currently issuing between 2,000 and 2,500 badges each week. We take every opportunity to publicise the badge and encourage others to do so as well.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of  (a) armoured vehicles,  (b) other vehicles,  (c) fixed wing aircraft,  (d) rotary wing aircraft,  (e) weapons systems and  (f) unmanned aerial vehicles of each type which have been removed from service as a result of battle damage in Iraq and Afghanistan are now (i) in service, (ii) fit for purpose and (iii) out of service.

Bob Ainsworth: I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Military Aircraft

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many C17 aircraft are operated by the Royal Air Force; and how many of those are  (a) leased and  (b) owned by the Royal Air Force;
	(2)  how many C130 aircraft are operated by the Royal Air Force; and what proportion of these are owned by the Royal Air Force.

Bob Ainsworth: The Royal Air Force currently operates six C17 aircraft, two of which are owned by the Royal Air Force. The remaining four CI7 aircraft are leased and will be purchased by the Royal Air Force this year.
	The Royal Air Force currently operates and owns 42 Hercules C130 aircraft.

Military Aircraft

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many heavy lift aircraft have been hired by the armed forces in the last three years, broken down by aircraft type.

Bob Ainsworth: The information is not held in the format requested.

Military Aircraft: Procurement

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when a decision will be made on the company which will construct the  (a) Hawk advanced jet trainer and  (b) Typhoon tranche 3; and where each will be manufactured.

Bob Ainsworth: The contract for the build of the Hawk advanced jet trainer was awarded to BAE Systems in October 2006. The aircraft are manufactured at Brough on Humberside. Negotiations with partner nations and industry on Typhoon Tranche 3 are underway and expected to continue throughout this year. The UK's national partner companies in the Eurofighter and Eurojet consortia are BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce respectively. Typhoon aircraft are manufactured at sites across the four partner nations.

Nuclear Submarines

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2008,  Official Report, column 849W, on berths, if he will list those berths with safety plans in place as specified in the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001 which are available to nuclear powered submarines in  (a) the UK and  (b) overseas.

Bob Ainsworth: The berths, including anchorages and buoys, with safety plans attached to them under the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001 are as follows:
	
		
			   Location  Number of berths 
			 UK HMNB Devonport 17 
			  HMNB Clyde 10 
			  HMNB Portsmouth 5 
			  Southampton 2 
			  Portland 2 
			  Loch Goil 1 
			  Loch Ewe 2 
			  Broadford Bay 1 
			  Clyde estuary 1 
			  Barrow in Furness 2 
			 Overseas HMNB Gibraltar 2

Porton Down: Human Experiments

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 31 January 2008,  Official Report, column 26WS, what progress has been made in the payment of compensation to servicemen affected by the Porton Down experiments.

Derek Twigg: Payment of those claims referred to in the written ministerial statement of 31 January 2008,  Official Report, column 26WS, was made in full to the claimants' legal representatives on 8 February 2008.

Type 45 Destroyers: Procurement

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the advice he received from the First Sea Lord relating to the cancellation of the seventh and eighth T45 destroyers procurement programme.

Bob Ainsworth: As is the usual practice with decisions of this nature, the decision not to purchase further Type 45 destroyers beyond the six presently on order was taken by Ministers as part of the Department's most recent planning round and after careful consideration by the Defence Board, of which the First Sea Lord is a member.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Agriculture

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether an agricultural policy is being established in Afghanistan under the command of  (a) the International Security Assistance Force and  (b) any other organisation; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: A national agriculture policy for Afghanistan is being developed by the Government of Afghanistan as part of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS). The ANDS is the Afghan Government's five-year development plan aimed at reducing poverty, stimulating economic growth, and improving governance and donor coordination. The ANDS was launched formally at the International Conference in Support of Afghanistan in Paris on 12 June 2008.
	The ANDS sets out the long-term strategic vision for agricultural and rural development. It aims to support the poor rural populations and develop the productivity and commercial viability of the agricultural sector. The lead Ministry, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, has developed Implementation and Investment Plans in response to the ANDS. The Department for International Development is providing support to this Ministry to develop and implement these plans.

Africa: Health Services

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had on UN plans to monitor and assess the implementation of the Maputo Plan of Action.

Douglas Alexander: Officials from the Department for International Development (DFID) are currently in discussion with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) about the development of the monitoring plan to assess the progress of the Maputo Plan of Action. The issue of the monitoring plan was raised at the recent UNFPA Executive Board meeting in Geneva.

Africa: Overseas Aid

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what UK bilateral aid programmes are under way in  (a) Gambia,  (b) Ghana,  (c) Cameroon and  (d) Equatorial Guinea; and what the (i) duration and (ii) cost is of each.

Gillian Merron: The following tables show all the UK bilateral aid programmes under way in  (a) the Gambia,  (b) Ghana, and  (c) Cameroon. There are no UK bilateral aid programmes in Equatorial Guinea.
	
		
			  (a) The Gambia 
			Commitment 
			  Sector  Programme  £ million  From  To 
			 Education Basic Education Support for Poverty Reduction 3.5 2005 2010 
			 Governance Legal Capacity Building programme 2.65 2004 2010 
			  Financial Governance programme 1.7 2004 2009 
			  Support to the Pro-Poor Advocacy Group 0.57 2005 2009 
			 Civil Society Concern Universal: Empowering Civil Society Organisations 0.55 2006 2009 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Ghana 
			Commitment 
			  Sector  Programme  £ million  From  To 
			 Poverty Reduction Poverty Reduction Budget Support 126 2006 2009 
			 Education Support to Education Strategic Plan 105 2006 2015 
			 Health Ghana Health Sector Support programme 42.5 2008 2012 
			 Water and Sanitation Water Sector Improvement Project 7.7 2005 2008 
			 HIV/AIDS Ghana Multi Sectoral HIV/AIDS programme 7.5 2006 2009 
			 Private Sector Development Support to Government of Ghana Private Sector Strategy 7.2 2005 2009 
			  Support to Business Associations 3.2 2004 2009 
			 Governance Land Administration Project 6.06 2004 2009 
			  Governance Research and Advocacy programme 3.535 2004 2010 
			  Institutional Strengthening for Ministry of Manpower Youth and Employment 3.3 2008 2012 
			  DFID Support to Financial Sector 3.1 2007 2011 
			  Catalytic Intervention Fund 2.5 2006 2009 
			  DFID Statistics Secondment to the World Bank 0.45 2008 2012 
			 Civil Society Civil Society Rights and Advocacy programme 4.8 2004 2009 
			 Food and Agriculture Support to Food and Agriculture Harmonisation 5.2 2007 2008 
			  Food Security and Agriculture Recovery Management II (FARM II) 1.2 2008 2008 
			 Humanitarian Ghana Floods—DFID Support to CARE 0.343 2008 2008 
		
	
	
		
			  (c) Cameroon 
			Commitment 
			  Sector  Programme  £ million  From  To 
			 Environment Targeted Sector Budget Support to the Forest and Environment Sector programme (FESP) 4 2006 2009 
			  Basket Fund Technical Capacity Building to the FESP 4 2005 2008 
			  Forest Governance Facility 2.38 2006 2009 
			  World Bank/DFID collaboration to support the forestry sector 0.64 2004 2009

Africa: Vulture Funds

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department takes to support poor and indebted African nations from the negative effects of vulture funds.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) is addressing this problem in two ways. We are working to prevent debts being sold to vulture funds in the first place and to limit the damage done in cases where debts have already been acquired by vulture funds.
	To reduce the risk of debts being sold to vulture funds we have been working with the World Bank to help poor countries buy back their commercial debts at a substantial discount through the Debt Reduction Facility (DRF). Last year the UK called for assistance from the DRF to be available earlier for heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) to reduce the risk of debts falling into the hands of vulture funds. This was agreed in April 2008 by the World Bank Board. We have announced a commitment of up to £10 million for future DRF country operations.
	We are also working to help HIPC countries access the legal resources and expertise necessary to defend themselves in cases where their debts are already in the hands of vulture funds. We are pleased that the Board of the African Development Bank agreed in April, with sustained UK support, to promote the establishment of an independent Legal Support Facility to advise countries on how best to tackle vulture fund activity.

Departmental Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many and what proportion of staff in his Department received bonus payments in each of the last five years; what the total amount of bonuses paid has been; what the largest single payment was in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The information requested is set out in full in the following tables. Figures for non-pensionable bonuses awarded to DFID senior civil servants in 2007-08 are being prepared and are not currently available.
	
		
			  Non-pensionable bonuses awarded to DFID senior civil servants (SCS) 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Number of awards 57 68 65 62 
			 Number of awards as a proportion of the number of SCS staff (percentage) 73 79 77 71 
			 Total cost (£) 189,500 266,750 377,100 504,000 
			 Largest individual payment (£) 5,407 5,500 8,000 12,500 
		
	
	
		
			  Non-pensionable bonuses awarded to DFID staff below SCS 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08( 1) 
			 Number of awards 654 508 1,106 1,020 387 
			 Number of awards as a proportion of the number of HCS staff (percentage) 35 28 63 62 23 
			 Total cost (£) 285,601 230,600 515,865 558,233 199,670 
			 Largest individual payment (£) 1,100 1,150 1,150 1,150 1,150 
			 (1) The Bonus award scheme for DFID staff below the SCS ended on 31 July 2007. 
		
	
	The significant differences in the number of awards from 2005-06 onwards is because changes were made to the Special Achievement Awards scheme as part of a new pay deal in 2004-05.

Developing Countries: Debts

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department takes to control the amount of new debt that heavily indebted nations may accumulate.

Gareth Thomas: The UK Government play a leading role in resolving the debt problems of the poorest countries, and as part of this, we have been at the forefront of international initiatives on responsible lending and borrowing. We strongly support the Debt Sustainability Framework (DSF), introduced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in April 2005. This framework helps countries and lenders make informed decisions about new lending, and it determines the terms on which the World Bank and others provide support. Assistance is provided on grant terms to countries that risk accumulating too much debt.
	The UK has been working within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to build support for the DSF. In January, members agreed guidelines on their own new lending to the poorest countries. Since 1997, the Government have been carefully examining new lending to heavily indebted poor countries. We provide support for a proposed project only if it is clear that the country can afford to repay the loan and that the lending clearly contributes to a country's economic and social development. DFID also funds work to build the debt management capacity of heavily indebted poor countries.

Developing Countries: Debts

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department provides for the Debt Sustainability Framework (DSF); and if he will list the beneficiaries of the programmes organised by the DSF.

Gareth Thomas: The UK has been a strong supporter of the Debt Sustainability Framework (DSF), introduced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in April 2005. It guides borrowers and lenders in considering new loans. It balances the financing countries require for development with the need to reduce the risks of an excessive build up of debt in the future. The Department for International Development (DFID) works closely with the Export Credit and Guarantee Department (ECGD) and HM Treasury to ensure all export credits provided by the UK are fully consistent with the DSF. The UK is also working hard internationally to support the DSF. Within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), we have agreed guidelines on lending to poor countries which came into effect in January 2008.
	The DSF is a framework that guides the terms on which the existing aid programmes of the major multilateral development banks (MDBs) are provided. It is used by the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The DSF assesses each country's debt situation and the MDBs provide all their aid as grants to any country at risk of debt distress.

Eritrea: Overseas Aid

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid his Department provided to Eritrea in each year since 2001; what types of aid were provided; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  £ million 
			 2001-02 1.511 
			 2002-03 2.746 
			 2003-04 2.369 
			 2004-05 1.310 
			 2005-06 2.308 
			 2006-07 3.490 
			  Notes: 95.6 per cent. of all the above was humanitarian assistance. 4 per cent. was other bilateral aid (i.e. grants) 0.4 per cent. was technical cooperation (to 2003-04) 
		
	
	UK support to Eritrea is focused on humanitarian need, channelled through Non-Governmental Organisations and UN agencies. Department for International Development (DFID) framework for Eritrea for 08/09 is £3.1 million.
	The full breakdown of bilateral aid is published in Table 12.1 of "Statistics on International Development 2002-03 — 2006-07", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House or on-line at:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/sid2007/contents.asp.

International Finance Facility for Immunisation Bonds

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effects of global financial turbulence and projections of future global growth on innovative financial instruments for development, with particular reference to the International Finance Facility for Immunisation bonds.

Gillian Merron: To date the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) has issued two bonds through the international capital markets, raising approximately US$1.2 billion dollars for the immunisation and health systems strengthening programmes of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI Alliance). IFFIm contributed to the GAVI Alliance's results in 2007 and early 2008. Some of these results include;
	immunising 194 million children in 32 developing countries with life saving measles vaccine;
	immunising more than 100 million children under the age of five against polio;
	helping immunise 26 million women against tetanus.
	IFFIm is on track to achieving its objective to provide frontloaded and predictable funding to the GAVI Alliance in order to immunise millions of people, and to save five million children's lives by 2015 and a further five million adult lives thereafter.
	Despite the current problems in the financial markets, IFFIm was able to issue the second bond in March this year through the Japanese capital market; raising US$223 million for the GAVI Alliance. Plans are underway to issue further IFFIm bonds in the coming years.

Languages

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what allocation his Department has made for language training for departmental staff in 2008-09.

Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not have a central budget for language training. Responsibility for sourcing and funding is devolved to divisions. Where appropriate to business needs divisions provide a range of language training opportunities, for example Portuguese for staff in Mozambique or French for those operating in Rwanda.

Overseas Aid

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will hold discussions with his G8 counterparts to seek an increase in their funding of development assistance; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: G8 Development Ministers at their meeting in Tokyo on 5-6 April stated that they remain firmly committed to working to fulfil their commitments on Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) made at Gleneagles. In preparation for the G8 Summit in July and the Follow-Up Conference on Financing for Development in November, we are continuing to discuss with our G8 partners the increased funding necessary to achieve the millennium development goals.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Disease Control

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps the Government has taken to improve biosecurity;
	(2)  what steps the Government has taken to increase public understanding of biosecurity.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 25 June 2008
	I assume my hon. Friend refers to farm biosecurity relating to controlling the spread of animal disease. The Government are currently running the Give Disease the Boot campaign, which provides livestock owners and veterinarians with information on a range of diseases and how best to protect the health of their animals and the health of the farming industry.
	DEFRA has produced various materials promoting the need for vigilance, and providing information about how to spot disease and prevent its introduction and spread. This information is available on the DEFRA website.
	Leaflets offering biosecurity advice to animal keepers are distributed by DEFRA at the Livestock Markets Roadshow, which is touring 80 towns in England during 2008. Key messages promoting biosecurity and vigilance are also featured in publications such as Farming Link.
	During exotic disease outbreaks, tighter biosecurity requirements apply, and rules are notified to the people affected by them.

Agriculture: Subsidies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will abolish set-aside in advance of any EU decision to do so.

Jonathan R Shaw: Set-aside is an EU requirement linked to the single payment scheme and it is not open to member states to reach their own decisions on whether it should apply. The UK supported the Commission's proposal last year to set the rate at zero for the 2008 harvest because of high cereal prices. We also support the Commission's proposal in the CAP Health Check to abolish set-aside as from the 2009 harvest and agree that steps should be taken to retain the environmental benefits that set-aside has delivered.

Agriculture: Waste Disposal

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will provide grant aid towards the cost of slurry storage facilities on farms arising from the implementation of the Nitrate Vulnerable Zones Directive.

Phil Woolas: DEFRA is not intending to provide a capital grant scheme for the construction of slurry stores in part because past experience has shown that this may simply increase supply prices and merely postpone the impact of market forces.

Animal Welfare: International Cooperation

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to support proposals for a UN declaration on animal welfare; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: We support the initiative of a UN declaration on animal welfare and recognise the importance of such initiatives in raising awareness of animal welfare on a global basis.

Bees

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what  (a) statutory instruments,  (b) departmental circulars and  (c) other documents he (i) has issued in the last 12 months and (ii) plans to issue in the next 12 months consequential to the provisions of the Bees Act 1980; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: No statutory instruments or departmental circulars consequential to the Bees Act 1980 have been issued in the last 12 months. The European Commission is currently considering protective measures in respect of 'Aethina tumida', the small hive beetle, which may require implementation by domestic legislation in the next 12 months.
	A draft Bee Health Strategy has been developed in consultation with interested organisations representing beekeepers. This was published for consultation on 8 April. The consultation closes on 29 August 2008. The strategy will help determine priorities for the Bee Health Programme and associated research and will define responsibility for action on bee pests and diseases.

Bees

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department  (a) is taking and  (b) plans to take to (i) monitor and (ii) control diseases in bees; what recent representations he has received about this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The National Bee Unit (NBU), part of the Central Science Laboratory (CSL), an executive agency of DEFRA, delivers the bee health programme in England. The aim of the programme is to control the spread of endemic notifiable diseases of honey bees and to identify and manage the risk associated with new exotic pests and diseases that may be introduced.
	The NBU operates a statutory inspection programme for notifiable diseases and pests, and provides a comprehensive training and education programme for beekeepers to enable them to become more self-reliant in combating disease problems through improved bee husbandry.
	In 2007, beekeepers benefited from more than 26,000 colony inspections and an extensive programme of training, including over 600 technical events, delivered by the NBU to help them improve disease control through good apiary management.
	Since the beginning of April 2008, 33 parliamentary questions have been received and approximately 230 letters and emails from MPs and members of the public have been received on the issue of bee health in the same period.

Bees

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding his Department provided for research into beekeeping in each year since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: I refer the hon. gentleman to the answer I gave on 3 June 2008,  Official Report, column 855W.

Bees

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much  (a) the National Bee Unit and  (b) the Bee Inspectorate received from his Department in each year since 1997; and how much each will receive in 2008-09.

Jonathan R Shaw: Expenditure on the National Bee Unit, which includes the Bee Inspectorate, by DEFRA and the Welsh Assembly Government are as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Expenditure (£) 
			 2003-04 1,518,000 
			 2004-05 1,518,000 
			 2005-06 1,518,000 
			 2006-07 1,518,000 
			 2007-08 1,518,000 
			 2008-09 1,608,000

Bees

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many beekeepers each National Bee Unit inspector is responsible for in the six months of the year in which inspections are undertaken; and how many each was responsible for in that period in  (a) 1997,  (b) 2001 and  (c) 2005.

Jonathan R Shaw: The number of beekeepers for which bee inspectors have responsibility varies according to the inspector's allocated area and whether they are employed on a part-time or full-time basis. In 1997, 2001 and 2005, apiary visits totalling 3,801, 3,706 and 4,053 respectively were carried out. Many inspectors conduct around 100 to 150 visits, and some 200 to 250 visits, per season. In addition, regional bee inspectors are available all year and can carry out inspections outside the traditional season. Inspections are targeted in areas where disease risk and colony density are highest and about 10 per cent. of the total number of apiaries is inspected each year.

Bees

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what  (a) primary and  (b) secondary legislation regulates (i) beekeeping and (ii) bee products; what recent representations he has received on this legislation; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Bees Act 1980 empowers Ministers to make orders to control pests and diseases affecting bees, and provides powers of entry for authorised persons.
	The Bee Diseases and Pests Control (England) Order 2006 makes provisions for the notification and control of statutory pests and implements community legislation on post import controls for imports of bees from third countries. The Animals and Animal Products (Import and Export) (England) Regulations implement community legislation relating to the importation of bees and apiculture products. The Honey Regulations 2003 make provisions for the specification and labelling of honey. The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2007 make provisions for the authorisation, manufacture, classification, distribution and administration of veterinary medicinal products.
	Strengthening the enforcement of existing bee health regulations on disease control, including the import of honey bees is addressed in the draft Bee Health Strategy, which was published for public consultation on 8 April. DEFRA has received no recent representations on the legislation.

Bees

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the population of each species of bee in  (a) Essex and  (b) England in each year since 1980.

Jonathan R Shaw: No such estimate has been made. There are about 250 species of bee in the UK, and c. 170 have been recorded in Essex. The Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society:
	www.bwars.com
	records the distribution of British species; information on different species of bee is also available on the National Biodiversity Network website:
	www.nbn.org.uk.

Bees

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many beekeepers there were in  (a) Southend and  (b) Essex in (i) each of the last five years and (ii) at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: Five beekeepers in Southend and 509 beekeepers in Essex are currently registered with the National Bee Unit. Historical data are not available. The actual number of beekeepers in these areas will be higher as registration is not compulsory.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brecon and Radnorshire, (Mr. Williams), of 2 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 913-4W, on bovine tuberculosis, what progress he has made in his consideration of the conclusions of the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle Tuberculosis on the potential role of badger culling in controlling tuberculosis in cattle.

Jonathan R Shaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 17 June 2008,  Official Report, column 798W, to the hon. Member for South-East Cornwall (Mr. Breed). The position remains unchanged. We continue to consider all the complex evidence on this issue and will respond to the Committee as soon as our deliberations are complete.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will publish the scientific evidence relating to badger to cattle transmission of bovine tuberculosis evaluated by his Department in the last 10 years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The scientific evidence relating to badger to cattle transmission of bovine tuberculosis has already been published in the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG)'s Final Report (18 July 2007). This and previously published interim reports of work carried out during the trial are available on the DEFRA website, alongside a list of peer-reviewed research papers published by the ISG and their research assistants.
	DEFRA also publishes the final reports of all its funded research projects, some of which are relevant to questions about the transmission of bTB from badgers to cattle. These are also available on the DEFRA website.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with his French counterpart on policies to deal with bovine tuberculosis; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 26 June 2008
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no discussions with his French counterpart on policy to deal with bovine tuberculosis.

Carrot Fly

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will seek discussions at EU level to review the decision under the EU Pesticides Directive to ban the use of pesticides that treat carrot fly.

Phil Woolas: A number of pesticides used for carrot fly control were withdrawn from use in the United Kingdom either for commercial reasons or following a review of anticholinesterase active substances. The substances concerned were subsequently withdrawn in the European Community following a review under Council Directive 91/414/EEC. Manufacturers of these substances may resubmit applications for approval if they wish to do so, for consideration in accordance with criteria for protection of health and the environment set out in EC and national legislation.

Carrot Fly

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what methods of controlling carrot fly are available to amateur gardeners.

Phil Woolas: No insecticides are authorised for amateur use specifically for carrot fly control. Gardeners may use any insecticide authorised for amateur use on edible crops, but their effectiveness may be limited. Effective means of physical control include using covers or barrier fences, avoiding sowing during the time of peak flight activity of carrot fly, and harvesting early to avoid damage from later generations.

Carrot Fly

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has undertaken on a less environmentally damaging alternative to the pesticide dieldrin to treat carrot fly.

Phil Woolas: Use of dieldrin for the control of carrot fly was prohibited in 1979.
	As part of PSD's alternative crop protection technologies research programme, a project is currently underway to investigate the control of soil-dwelling horticultural pests such as carrot fly using the staphylinid beetle Atheta coriaria. This work aims to build on existing knowledge to further develop this native beetle as a biological control agent.

Carrot Fly

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the ban on the use of pesticides under the EU Council Directive 79/117 on the incidence of carrot fly.

Phil Woolas: Use of HCH and dieldrin for control of carrot fly was prohibited in 1979 under Council Directive 79/117/EEC. Alternative pesticides were available at that time and the directive is not expected to have affected the incidence of carrot fly.

Cattle: Imports

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many imported cattle were accompanied by inadequate paperwork when arriving at a UK port in each of the last three years.

Jonathan R Shaw: Cattle imported from third countries must enter the UK (and the Community) through a border inspection post (BIP). Individual BIPs hold their own information regarding statistics surrounding import figures relating to inadequate paperwork.
	Animal Health has been responsible for this area of work since December 2007. In the time from December 2007 to May 2008, Animal Health has received 12 non-compliance reports relating to cattle. Collective figures for such reports, prior to this time, are not available centrally.

Cattle: Imports

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many live cattle were imported into the UK in each of the last three years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The following table gives the number of live cattle recorded as imported into the UK in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
	Please note these figures are obtained using VAT records and will exclude some EU trade for businesses which are below the VAT threshold. As a result, actual trade levels may be higher than those given.
	
		
			  Live cattle 
			   Number 
			 2005 5,455 
			 2006 8,261 
			 2007 10,013 
			  Note: 2007 data are subject to amendments.  Sources: HM Revenue and Customs Data prepared by Trade statistics, Agricultural Statistics and Analysis, DEFRA

Central Science Laboratory: Standards

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made towards meeting the Central Science Laboratory performance targets for 2007-08, broken down by target.

Jonathan R Shaw: For information on progress made by the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) towards the 2007-08 performance targets, please see the CSL annual report and accounts for 2007-08, published on 18 June 2008. This is available on the CSL website at:
	www.csl.gov.uk/newsAndResources/cslAnnualReport0708.pdf

Commission for Rural Communities

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the planned budget for the Commission for Rural Communities is for  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2010-11.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Commission for Rural Communities grant in aid from DEFRA is £6.4 million for 2008-09. Final decisions on DEFRA budgets (and the funding it gives to its sponsored bodies and Executive Agencies) for 2009-10 and 2010-11 have not yet been made. We expect to make an announcement on 2009-10 budgets by 31 August and on 2010-11 in the spring of 2009.

Commission for Rural Communities

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people are employed by the Commission for Rural Communities; and how many are expected to be employed by it in each of the next three years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Commission for Rural Communities currently employs 58.9 full-time equivalents. Decisions on future staff numbers are for the Commission's management.

Departmental Accountancy

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's  (a) chart of accounts and  (b) resource account codes and usage descriptions for the current financial year.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have arranged for placement in the Library a copy of the chart of accounts for 2008-09 which reflects the Department's revised budget framework for the current year. This shows the budget relationships and account codes that are being used following the restructuring of the Department along programme and project lines and does not reflect the 2007-08 structure, or that for future years. The chart shows the relationship between parent codes (used for preparing resource accounts) and children codes (used for more detailed management purposes). Each code has a brief description that describes its use.

Departmental Buildings

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the value of the property held by  (a) his Department and  (b) associated public bodies was at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: The value of property held by DEFRA and the principal associated public bodies is:
	
		
			   Value (£)  Valuation date 
			  (a) DEFRA 541,249,000 March 2008 
			
			  (b) Associated bodies   
			 Environmental Agency 2,276,329,000 March 2008 
			 Natural England (National Nature Reserves) 4,280,000 March 2006 
			 Natural England (Office Estate) 1,593,000 March 2008

Departmental Buildings

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how frequently his Department restates the asset values of its building estate.

Jonathan R Shaw: The departmental property assets are revalued every five years in accordance with accountancy practices. In addition, an annual review of asset values is undertaken and any change in value is restated within the central departmental accounts.

Departmental Public Participation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 12 May 2008,  Official  Report, columns 1327-28W, on departmental public participation, how much each  (a) survey,  (b) questionnaire and  (c) other service cost; and how many members of the public participated in each activity.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA conducts regular detailed research amongst both the general public and selected target groups to inform its policy and communication planning and evaluation. The following table records the surveys, questionnaires and other services conducted by third parties which received funding from DEFRA and which sought opinion, and which were provided in completed and agreed form during the financial year 2007-08.
	
		
			  Company which conducted it  Title of report  Cost of report to DEFRA (£)  Number of participants  Notes/(£) 
			 Cognition Market Intelligence VMD Customer Feedback Survey 14,025 52 Pharmaceutical companies, farmers, slaughterhouses and retailers 
			  
			 Continental Research Business Attitudes to Resource Efficiency 8,250 254 Businesses 
			  
			 Entec UK Ltd. Understanding the barriers to flood resilience 43,622 1,131 Businesses and public 
			  
			 Ipsos MORI Attitudes to use of organic waste on agricultural land 48,855 500 Farmers 
			  
			 University of Reading Survey into farmers attitudes toward a TB cattle vaccine 8,250 287 Farmers 
			  
			 British Market Research Bureau Public awareness of personal food imports 4,995 2,000 — 
			  
			 British Market Research Bureau Public Attitudes Towards Farmers 13,585 1,717 — 
			  
			 Creative Research Rabies Restrictions Review Consumer Workshops 33,907 68-72 — 
			  
			 GFK Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restrictions of Chemicals (REACH) Awareness Raising Campaign tracking research 27,750 800 Businesses 
			 IFF Research Illegal Foods Campaign Tracking 06-07 37,500 600 — 
			  
			 Kate Willis Fallen Stock Sheep Farmers Research 34,775 58-66 Farmers 
			  
			 Marketing Synergie International Illegal Food Imports Creative Development 23,315 48-60 — 
			  
			 Research Works Creative testing of the filler—Personal food imports Filler testing 13,500 c. 42 — 
			  
			 Centre for Sustainable Energy Distributional Impacts of Personal Carbon Trading 26,000 0 Used existing data from English House Condition Survey and UK Expenditure and Food Survey 
			  
			 Opinion Leader and Enviros Consulting Personal Carbon Trading: Public Acceptability 50,000 92 — 
			  
			 2CV Natural Environment Message Testing Research 63,250 77 — 
			  
			 British Market Research Bureau Chewing Gum Action Group Campaign evaluation 0 1,923 Cost funded by industry: 55,150 
			  
			 British Market Research Bureau Omnibus research into Awareness of Endangered Species Trade 0 1,717 Included as part of 'Public Attitudes Towards Farmers' Omnibus fee 
			  
			 Edcomms Natural Environment Communications Desk Research 41,200 12 Stakeholders were interviewed as part of scoping stage otherwise this was a desk report 
			  
			 CML Market Research Food Campaign—Message Research 29,756 78 — 
			  
			 University of Exeter Contemporary livestock farming and watercourse pollution: a citizen's jury approach 19,740 15 The whole contract cost, of which the jury was included 
			  
			 MVA consultancy, commissioned by Consumer Council for Water on behalf of the Water Saving Group Campaigns to make a difference: Research into identifying water saving messages 10,000 90 Figure includes VAT. Is fraction of total cost of 33,672.22 (including VAT), funded by the Water Saving Group 
			  
			 Social Research and Consultancy Consumer attitudes to water efficiency of bathroom fittings: analysis of quantitative research 5,165 1,088 — 
			  
			 ICM Climate Change Tracking Wave 6. Omnibus survey covering public knowledge and attitudes to climate change 31,161 3,129 — 
			  
			 ICM Climate Change Tracking Wave 5. Omnibus survey covering public knowledge and attitudes to climate change 31,436 3,113 — 
			  
			 British Market Research Bureau ACT ON CO2 climate change campaign, post tracking 72,775 1,030 — 
			  
			 Opinion Leader Research Citizen summit on climate change 164,957 152-174 — 
			  
			 Brook Lyndhurst Public Understanding of Sustainable Energy Use in the Home 72,335 114 — 
			 Ipsos MORI Public Understanding of Sustainable Finance and Investment 54,150 c. 100 — 
			  
			 Opinion Leader Research Public Understanding of Sustainable Consumption of Food 42,450 c. 100 — 
			 Scott Wilson Public Understanding of Sustainable Transport 77,100 100 — 
			  
			 University of Surrey Public Understanding of Sustainable Leisure and Tourism 69,812 108 — 
			  
			 Navigator Waste Infrastructure Research. 58,550 c. 154 — 
			  
			 British Market Research Bureau Survey of public attitudes and behaviour in relation to the environment 372,000 5,279  
			  
			 University of Gloucestershire, CCRI and MLURI Understanding and influencing positive behaviour change in farmers and rural land managers 120,000 78 Farmers and rural land-managers 
			  
			 Jigsaw Research Defra: Engaging The Business Community in Environmental Issues 60,815 73 Businesses 
			  
			 Ipsos MORI Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI) Research 53,500 c. 360 Schools and local authorities

Departmental Records

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what files are held by his Department on  (a) the Animal Welfare Bill of Session 2005-06 and  (b) the Animal Welfare Act 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: My Department holds a number of files on both the Animal Welfare Bill and the Act, mainly relating to the development of the legislation.

Departmental Trade Unions

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which trades unions represent members of staff in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies.

Jonathan R Shaw: The trades unions that represent members of staff in DEFRA and its agencies are Prospect, First Division and Public and Commercial Services.

Equality

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to establish a strategy to tackle age discrimination and promote age equality in the provision of goods and services  (a) by his Department and  (b) within the sector for which he has policy responsibility; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: We have recently produced revised gender, race and disability equality schemes which reflect our commitment to supporting an inclusive culture in DEFRA. Our revised equality schemes and diversity strategy will tackle and address age discrimination through action planning. DEFRA's diversity strategy is also aligned to the Civil Service Diversity Strategy, 2008-11.
	Consultation on proposals for the Single Equality Bill, A Framework for Fairness, signalled that the Government were considering the case for prohibiting age discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services under a proposed single public sector duty which would be extended to cover age. DEFRA was among 4,000 organisations who have responded to the consultation supporting the view that a single public duty replacing race, disability and gender duties should cover all protected groups. The Government will publish its response to the consultation shortly.

Fisheries: Environment Protection

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is compulsory for fishing boats off the English coast to use pingers to deter cetaceans and other sea life.

Jonathan R Shaw: On 1 January 2006 European Council Regulation (EC) 812/2004 made the use of acoustic deterrent devices (pingers) mandatory for vessels over 12 m involved in fixed gear fisheries in the Celtic Sea, Channel and Western Waters. Technical problems, however, with current designs have precluded the full deployment of acoustic deterrent devices. The Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) has recently undertaken research on behalf of DEFRA into the effects of a bigger pinger on porpoise and dolphin distribution. We hope to have more details on the efficacy of the new pingers by spring next year.

Flood Control

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure flood defences are maintained on a regular basis; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: We have a full programme of works across the country which is currently on course to improve protection from flooding and coastal erosion for more than 100,000 households over the 2004 spending review period (2005 to 2008). The programme comprises maintenance, repair and improvements, and is prioritised on the basis of the assets' contribution to reducing flood risk.

Flood Control

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure that adequate flood defences are in place before new housing is built in areas at risks from flooding; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
	Where new housing is exceptionally necessary in flood risk areas, Planning Policy Statement 25 Development and Flood Risk (PPS25), aims to make it safe without increasing flood risk elsewhere. If flood defences are needed in order to allow such development to proceed, PPS25 requires these works generally to be funded by developers. As the Environment Agency is now a statutory consultee for planning applications, it is able to provide expert advice on all proposals in flood risk areas.

Flood Control

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the use of section 106 agreements to ensure flood defence problems caused by new developments are resolved and funded by developers; and if he will make a statement.

Iain Wright: I have been asked to reply.
	No specific assessment of the use of planning obligations as regards flood defences has been carried out. Planning Policy Statement 25 Development and Flood Risk (PPS25), aims to avoid inappropriate development in flood risk areas and to direct development away from areas at highest risk. If new or improved flood defences are necessary as a result of development, PPS25 requires these works generally to be funded by the developers in line with PPS25 annex G.
	Local planning authorities can develop appropriate local policies and enter into planning obligations with developers in pursuit of this policy.

Flood Control

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effect that Planning Policy Statement No. 25 has had on the development of housing in areas of high flood risk; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
	We are taking a number of initiatives to assess the effectiveness of the policies in Planning Policy Statement 25 Development and Flood Risk (PPS25). We are working with key stakeholderslocal authorities, developers, the Environment Agency and othersto ensure PPS25 is implemented. The Environment Agency's annual High Level Target 5 report on planning and flooding, and our analysis of applications dealt with under the flooding Direction, indicate that PPS25 policy is working. We are investigating with DEFRA the progress that local authorities are making in preparing their strategic flood risk assessments. We also plan to examine whether there are any barriers to delivery which may be hindering local authorities from implementing PPS25.

Flood Control: Bournemouth

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 24 June 2008,  Official Report, column 166W, on flood control: Bournemouth, what steps the Government plans to take in response to representations on potential flooding in Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth.

Phil Woolas: Hengistbury Head peninsular will be considered under the Shoreline Management plan (SMP) review covering Poole and Christchurch Bay. In order to maximise stakeholder engagement, the Poole and Christchurch Bays SMP steering group, of which the Environment Agency is a member, created a website providing details of the process and progress on the plan.
	The website allowed comments to be fed into the SMP process. The steering group also distributed an awareness raising leaflet to 500 stakeholders, including local MPs, councillors and residents' associations.

Flood Control: Planning

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to seek the introduction of a British Standard for flood resistant products in connection with Planning Policy Guidance 25.

Phil Woolas: The British Standards Institution's Kitemark scheme already allows for the certification of flood resistance products. The Environment Agency supports the Kitemark scheme, as products with a Kitemark have been independently tested and proved fit for purpose. Details of the scheme and a list of certified products are available on the Environment Agency's website. The Environment Agency is sponsoring a revision of the current Kitemark scheme to update the content of the specification.
	Planning Policy Statement 25 aims to avoid inappropriate development in flood risk areas by directing development to areas at lower risk to avoid and manage the risk. In exceptional circumstances where development is required in flood risk areas, it must be safe, not increase flood risk and be constructed so it is resilient to flooding.

Floods: Telephone Services

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the  (a) establishment and  (b) annual operation of the proposed telephone flood warning system.

Phil Woolas: DEFRA funds most of the Environment Agency's flood risk management including flood warning activities. The Environment Agency has informed me that the Floodline Warnings Direct system cost 14.2 million to develop and implement. The system is currently operational with over 350,000 customers registered.
	The annual operational cost is currently 1.9 million.

Floods: Telephone Services

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department plans to take to ensure the privacy of the people whose details will be contained on the proposed telephone flood warning system.

Phil Woolas: The Environment Agency has informed me that the Floodline Warnings Direct system is hosted in a Fujitsu data centre which meets the international standard ISO27001 for Information Security Management. The scope of this standard is extensive, and Fujitsu's adherence to it is covered by regular BSI and internal audits. The Environment Agency adheres to the Data Protection Act regarding the collection, processing and maintenance of personal data.

Livestock: Exports

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many live lambs and sheep were exported for  (a) slaughter and  (b) further fattening in (i) April and (ii) May 2008; and how many of each were exported to each country of destination;
	(2)  how many live  (a) calves,  (b) adult cattle and  (c) lambs and sheep were exported for (i) slaughter and (ii) further fattening in 2007; and how many of each were exported to each country of destination.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information requested is currently being collected. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible, and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Meat: Imports

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanisms are in place to ensure imported meat meets UK standards; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: European Community legislation requires that meat imported into the UKand elsewhere within the EUis produced to the same animal health and public health standards throughout. Consignments of meat must be accompanied by veterinary certification which gives guarantees that the meat has been produced according to EU rules. The European Commission carries out inspection visits to exporting third countries to ensure compliance with EU public and animal health requirements.
	All consignments of meat are checked on entry into the EU. Every consignment has a documentary and identity check, that is a check on the certificate and that the consignment matches the information in the certificate. 20 per cent. of consignments of red meat and 50 per cent. of consignments of poultry meat are physically checked. A physical check may include an organoleptic check (taste, appearance and smell), a temperature check (for frozen or chilled products), and laboratory tests for contaminants.

Noise: Pollution

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department will publish noise maps for major roads in England as required in the EU Environmental Noise Directive; and which roads in  (a) Hampshire and  (b) Basingstoke constituency will be mapped.

Jonathan R Shaw: The interactive noise mapping website which shows major roads within agglomerations was published on 16 May 2008 and is available on the DEFRA website.
	Major roads mapped outside these urban areas are also available on the DEFRA website.

Noise: Pollution

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the public consultation will be held on noise maps developed to meet the requirements of the Environmental Noise (England) Regulations 2006 and Directive 2002/49/EC on environmental noise; and how the consultation will be conducted.

Jonathan R Shaw: The regulations, which covered the preparation of noise maps, were consulted on in 2005.

Noise: Pollution

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on a consultation to develop a national noise strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Government plan to publish a combined National Noise Strategy for England, which will cover ambient and neighbourhood noise, for consultation later this year.

Oral Questions

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will discuss with the Leader of the House the number of opportunities he will have to answer oral questions from hon. Members in the remainder of 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA answers oral questions every five weeks in line with the order of questions rota published by the Table Office. In 2008 DEFRA has answered questions on 31 January, 13 March, 1 May and 12 June. Further sessions will take place on 17 July and 6 November.

Rural Payments Agency: Standards

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made towards meeting the Rural Payments Agency's performance targets for 2007-08, broken down by target.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Rural Payments Agency achieved all eight targets set by the Secretary of State including those for the Single Payment Scheme for the 2007-08 reporting year. The targets were announced by Lord Rooker on 26 June 2007 in his written ministerial statement.

Television

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on  (a) commissioning and  (b) funding the production of television programmes in (i) each of the last three years and (ii) 2008-09 to date; what programmes these were; and which companies made them.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 26 June 2008
	My Department has not commissioned or funded any television programmes in the past three years or in 2008-09.

Tree Preservation Orders: Guildford

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 25 April 2008,  Off icial Report, column 2328W, on tree preservation orders: Guildford, whether bidders were advised no later than 19 May 2008; who the preferred bidder is; and whether legal completion of the sale is still expected to take place on or before 2 July 2008.

Joan Ruddock: I can confirm that all bidders were advised as to the status of their bid on or before 19 May. A purchaser was identified via the formal tender process; a contract was exchanged on 19 May; and completion is still scheduled for 2 July 2008.

Waste Management: Finance

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding was allocated to each county council in England for recycling and sustainable waste management in each year since 1979.

Joan Ruddock: The main source of funding for local authorities' waste management services is Formula Grant allocated by central Government. It is for local authorities to decide what proportion of their funding to invest in waste management services, including recycling. Other funding allocated to authorities in England for waste management since 1997 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Funding provided (million) 
			  Scheme  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund 50 90 90 45
			 Waste Performance and Efficiency Grant40 105 110  
			 Waste Infrastructure Capital Grant   78 
			 London Waste and Recycling Fund   20 
			 Grant to Relieve Spending Pressures on Waste   20 
			 Reward-only Pilot Schemes5
			 Private Finance Initiative 70 100 125 130 255 280 600 
			 Local Communications Fund (WRAP)   16.2   3 
			 Behavioural Change Local Fund (WRAP) 13

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Burma: Foreign Investment

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Mid-Norfolk, (Mr. Simpson) of 26 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1364W, on investment in Burma, what progress has been made in discussions between the UK and EU partners on restrictive measures against Burmese companies as agreed at the October 2007 General Affairs and External Relations Council; whether a full prohibition on new investment in enterprises in Burma engaged in the logging, timber and mining of metals and minerals industries is under consideration; and what assessment he has made of the effect of Cyclone Nargis on discussions on restrictive measures at EU level.

Meg Munn: In November 2007 EU partners agreed a prohibition on new investment in enterprises engaged in logging, timber, mining of metals and minerals, precious or semi-precious stones as well as related technical and financial assistance. This came into force with the publication of EC Regulation 194/2008 on 10 March 2008.
	The EU General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) conclusions agreed to consider further financial measures at the April GAERC in 2008. The European Commission is working on an options paper. A review of two annexes to the current common position, listing companies targeted by the EU measures, is due for completion in July.
	Cyclone Nargis struck Burma after the new common position was agreed. The financial and other measures set out in the common position target the regime's leaders and those who benefit from its policies, rather than the ordinary Burmese people. Any future financial measures would be designed to meet the same objective. The common position also restricts the scope and means of delivery of non-humanitarian aid or development programmes, but these restrictions do not apply to humanitarian aidsuch as that provided in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.

Republic of Ireland: Lisbon Treaty

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on pursuing the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty following the result of the referendum in the Republic of Ireland.

Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made a statement to the House on this issue on 23 June.
	All 27 member states must ratify the Lisbon Treaty before it can enter into force. In the UK, the EU (Amendment) Bill received Royal Assent on 19 June.
	Article 6 of the Lisbon Treaty provides that:
	This Treaty shall be ratified by the High Contracting Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Government of the Italian Republic.
	Ratification is the process by which the UK indicates its consent to be bound by a treaty under international law. The procedure for ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon on behalf of the UK is the same as that for previous EU amending treaties. An instrument of ratification is drafted and submitted for the signature of Her Majesty The Queen. This is then sealed and bound and forwarded to our embassy in Rome for delivery to the Italian Government as depositary.
	The administrative arrangements for ratification of the Lisbon Treaty were initiated following the granting of the Royal Assent to the EU (Amendment) Bill on 19 June 2008. The completion of these arrangements normally takes a number of weeks.

Somalia: Politics and Government

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Somalia.

Kim Howells: holding answer 30 June 2008
	We are pleased that the UN sponsored talks in Djibouti resulted in the initialling of a peace agreement between the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Alliance for Re-Liberation of Somalia on 9 June 2008. This is a positive step and we look forward to all parties formally signing soon and fulfilling their commitment to cease armed confrontation. We continue to work closely with the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdalla, to encourage and support the TFG in reaching out to all groups which reject violence and to pursue increased inclusiveness in government and a process of national reconciliation.

Television

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on  (a) commissioning and  (b) funding the production of television programmes (i) in each of the last three years and (ii) in 2008-09 to date; what programmes these were; and which companies made them.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 25 June 2008
	 This information is not held centrally. To provide an answer would incur a disproportionate cost.

Treaty of Lisbon

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs by what mechanism the UK would ratify the Treaty of Lisbon; and whether such ratification is revocable prior to the Treaty coming into effect.

Jim Murphy: Article 6 of the Lisbon Treaty provides that:
	This Treaty shall be ratified by the High Contracting Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Government of the Italian Republic.
	Ratification is the process by which the UK indicates its consent to be bound by a treaty under international law. The procedure for ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon on behalf of the UK is the same as that for previous EU amending treaties. An instrument of ratification is drafted and submitted for the signature of Her Majesty The Queen. This is then sealed and bound and forwarded to our embassy in Rome for delivery to the Italian Government as depositary.
	The administrative arrangements for ratification of the Lisbon Treaty were initiated following the granting of the Royal Assent to the EU (Amendment) Bill on 19 June 2008. The completion of these arrangements normally takes a number of weeks.

Treaty of Lisbon

William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon; what the procedure for ratification is; and when UK ratification will come into effect.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 25 June 2008
	Article 6 of the Lisbon treaty provides that:
	This Treaty shall be ratified by the High Contracting Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Government of the Italian Republic.
	Ratification is the process by which the UK indicates its consent to be bound by a treaty under international law. The procedure for ratification of the treaty of Lisbon on behalf of the UK is the same as that for previous EU amending treaties. An instrument of ratification is drafted and submitted for the signature of Her Majesty the Queen. This is then sealed and bound and forwarded to our embassy in Rome for delivery to the Italian Government as depositary.
	The administrative arrangements for ratification of the Lisbon treaty were initiated following the granting of the Royal Assent to the EU (Amendment) Bill on 19 June. The completion of these arrangements normally takes a number of weeks.

Treaty of Lisbon

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the instruments of ratification required under Article 6 of the Treaty of Lisbon are; when the Government plans to deposit the instruments of ratification with the depositary in Rome; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 25 June 2008
	Article 6 of the Lisbon treaty provides that:
	This Treaty shall be ratified by the High Contracting Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Government of the Italian Republic.
	Ratification is the process by which the UK indicates its consent to be bound by a treaty under international law. The procedure for ratification of the treaty of Lisbon on behalf of the UK is the same as that for previous EU amending treaties. An instrument of ratification is drafted and submitted for the signature of Her Majesty the Queen. This is then sealed and bound and forwarded to our embassy in Rome for delivery to the Italian Government as depositary.
	The administrative arrangements for ratification of the Lisbon Treaty were initiated following the granting of the Royal Assent to the EU (Amendment) Bill on 19 June. The completion of these arrangements normally takes a number of weeks.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Regeneration

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to change the procedures for making decisions on regeneration.

Parmjit Dhanda: Officials are finalising proposals for a regeneration framework which we expect to publish in the summer.

Regeneration

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to promote community aspirations through regeneration.

Hazel Blears: Through programmes New Deal for Communities and Neighbourhood Management we have put residents and their aspirations at the heart of regeneration and local deliveryand in March we announced how we would build on our commitment to this agenda through our plans for a new Empowerment White Paper.

Local Area Agreement: Barnsley and Doncaster

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made in local area agreement negotiations in Barnsley and Doncaster.

Hazel Blears: I am delighted to confirm the successful conclusion of Local Area Agreement negotiations. This represents a landmark in the relationship between the Government and our local partners.
	In Barnsley and Doncaster, we have worked closely with local partners to agree ambitious LAAs which focus on tackling deprivation, reducing health inequalities and improving the prospects of children and young people.

Community Cohesion Strategy

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what support she is giving to Christian faith groups as part of her community cohesion strategy.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Government recognise and welcome the great contribution people who are motivated by faith make to their local communities and their contribution to building cohesion. Our new inter faith strategy to be published in July will set out further our commitments on this important agenda.

Social Housing

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many families are on social housing waiting lists.

Caroline Flint: On 1 April 2007 there were 1.67 million households on the waiting list for social housing in England.

Interfaith Strategy

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on developing the interfaith strategy.

Parmjit Dhanda: The consultation on the interfaith strategy closed on 7 March. We plan to publish the strategy in July.

Police and Health Services: Oversight

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to improve the capacity of local communities to oversee police and health services.

Hazel Blears: A White Paper on empowering citizens and communities will be published shortly. It will set out plans to give communities a more significant role in shaping local decisions and services.

Family Homes

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many family homes she expects local authorities to build in 2008-09.

Caroline Flint: We do not set targets for the homes that local authorities build; but through PPS3, 'Planning and Housing', we have given local authorities greater flexibility to meet specific local needs, and bring about the building of family homes.
	Additionally we have set the Housing Corporation the target that 30 per cent. of its social rented homes completed through its Affordable Housing Programme in 2008-09 should be family homes with three or more bedrooms.

Community Groups

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on implementing proposals for the transfer of assets to community groups; and what effect the Empowerment White Paper consultation will have on this process.

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on her proposals for the transfer of assets to community groups; and what effect the Empowerment White Paper consultation will have on this process.

Hazel Blears: Since May 2007, community groups have been assisted on asset transfer projects in 20 demonstration areas; a further 12 areas commenced in April 2008; the Cabinet Office has allocated 30 million in refurbishment grants; and new guidance for local authorities has been developed.
	The White Paper will be published before the summer recess.

Energy Efficiency

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will bring forward proposals to amend planning legislation to require improvements in energy efficiency in listed buildings, conservation areas and National Parks.

Iain Wright: Historic buildings vary considerably in the extent to which they can accommodate energy efficiency measures without losing their special interest. Our present policy is to encourage owners of historic buildings to improve their energy efficiency where and to the extent that is practically possible, provided this does not prejudice the character of the building or increase the risk of long-term deterioration of the fabric or fittings. However, we do not rule out the possibility of legislation.

Housing and Planning Targets

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment she has made of the effect of housing market forecasts on the delivery of Government housing and planning targets.

Caroline Flint: The Government's long-term targets in respect of housing and planning delivery remain as set out in Public Service Agreement Target 20 (Long-Term Supply and Affordability).
	The Government monitor closely current trends in the housing market. I have commissioned my Department, working with English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation and the Homes and Communities Agency transition team, to review where there is scope to do more across our programmes to address current challenges in the housing market and create the right conditions for rapid recovery.

Trees

Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to ensure that trees of national importance or significance are identified and protected.

Iain Wright: We are bringing forward a package of measures through the Planning Bill, secondary legislation and revised guidance to improve the protection given to trees. In particular, we will be making it clearer in our guidance that trees of historic and cultural value can be protected as well as trees with visual amenity. We also intend to remove exemptions for dying trees and restricting the works that can be undertaken to dangerous trees to that necessary to remove the danger, which will significantly increase the protection of veteran trees.
	The Department will be setting up a working group to assist with the preparation of revised guidance on the operation of the Tree Preservation Order system, and to explore whether a voluntary register of trees might help to further protect trees of special importance.

Regional Spatial Strategy: South-West

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to publish her response to the draft regional spatial strategy for the south-west.

Iain Wright: The Secretary of State is currently considering whether to propose changes to the draft RSS in response to the report of the independent panel that conducted the Examination in Public. The intention is to publish any proposed changes, for a 12-week period of consultation, later in the summer.

Eco-towns

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to issue planning policy statements in relation to eco-towns; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: We expect to publish a draft planning policy statement for consultation in July. It will be a material consideration in the determination of any planning application for an eco-town, particularly where the Development Plan is silent or out of date.

Temporary Accommodation

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the guidance to local authorities on the use of out-of-borough temporary accommodation.

Iain Wright: Local authorities are legally obliged to have regard to the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities, which includes the suitable location of accommodation. I understand that my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing is to meet with a number of London boroughs to discuss their use of temporary accommodation as a result of notification of out-of-borough placements from our team of homelessness specialist advisers and my hon. Friend.

Council Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of domestic residential dwellings in each council tax band in the London Borough of Bexley.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley, East and Mexborough (Jeff Ennis) on 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1390W.

Council Tax: Valuation

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answers to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 19 February 2008 , Official Report, column 613W, 2 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 924-25W, on council tax: valuation and 7 May 2008,  Official Report, columns 1035-36W, if she will place in the Library copies of the calculations and work relating to the number of consequentials that informed the discussions at the Council Tax Revaluation Programme Board (England).

John Healey: No calculations or work were presented to the programme board on this issue.

Departmental Pay

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will review salary negotiations for public sector employees in organisations within her Department's responsibility to reflect the rise in the consumer price index to a point above 3 per cent.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Government's pay policy is guided by the following principles. Public sector pay settlements should be consistent with maintaining the necessary levels of recruitment, retention and staff engagement needed to support service delivery; ensuring that total pay bills represent value for money and are affordable within Departments' overall expenditure plans; and consistent with the achievement of the inflation target. Timing of pay decisions for a particular work force depends on pay-setting arrangements for that work force.

Departmental Press

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by her Department on subscriptions for magazines, newspapers and other publications in each of the last 24 months.

Parmjit Dhanda: In each of the last two financial years the Department has spent the following on magazines, newspapers and other publications:
	
		
			
			 2006-07 373,760 
			 2007-08 236,857

Departmental Visits Abroad

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost of overseas visits by each Minister in her Department has been since 1997.

Parmjit Dhanda: Since 1999, the Government have published the total cost of all overseas travel by Ministers and a list of all overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers costing over 500. Information for the last financial year was published on 25 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1112W. Details for the financial year 2007-08 will be published before the summer recess and will include details of overseas visits undertaken by all Ministers. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.
	Information in respect of overseas visits by all Ministers for the period 1997-99 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Written Questions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how long on average her Department took to answer  (a) ordinary written and  (b) named day questions in each of the last three years.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested is not held in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

East of England Regional Assembly

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the division of responsibilities between the Thames Gateway and the East of England Regional Assembly is; what mechanisms are in place for co-ordination of their activities; what geographical area each covers; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The East of England regional assembly is the regional planning and housing body for the East of England; helps to co-ordinate public sector expenditure and activity in the region; and scrutinises the work of the East of England Development Agency. The regional assembly is responsible for preparing the regional spatial strategy (RSS) for the East of England.
	The regional assembly covers six counties (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk) and four unitary authorities (Luton, Peterborough, Southend and Thurrock).
	The Thames Gateway is a large scale regeneration programme covering South Essex, North Kent and East London, where the Government and their local delivery partners are working to create the conditions for growth and regeneration. The Thames Gateway in South Essex spans the districts of Basildon, Castle Point, Rochford, and the unitary authorities of Southend and Thurrock.
	The Thames Gateway Delivery Plan, launched by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in November 2007, sets out the Government's vision for the Gateway and identifies how over 9 billion funding from across Government will be invested in the Thames Gateway over the next three years.
	Communities and Local Government's Thames Gateway Executive is responsible for co-ordinating the activity across Government to deliver the regeneration of the Gateway. It is also responsible for the management of the Department's 500 million funding programme for the Thames Gateway.
	The East of England regional assembly is represented on the Thames Gateway Strategic Partnership which co-ordinates the activities of central government, local and regional partners across the Thames Gateway.

Eco-towns: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department has allocated to support the development of eco-towns in the current spending review period.

Caroline Flint: CSR07 allocated 1.7 billion of targeted funding over the CSR07 period for infrastructure in Growth Areas, the Thames Gateway, New Growth Points and eco-towns, including 300 million to continue the Community Infrastructure Fund. Decisions on the split and distribution of growth funding, including support for eco-towns, will be announced in due course.

Eco-towns: Green Belt

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 6 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1176W, on eco-towns, how many hectares of greenfield development are included in each of the proposed eco-town developments.

Caroline Flint: As I set out in my answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) summary descriptions for each of the shortlisted eco-towns locations are set out in the consultation document, Eco-towns - Living a greener future, and further information about the schemes, including the site, are available through the Department's website.
	Many of the shortlisted bids make significant use of previously developed (brownfield) land. However, in some cases, development on greenfield land may be appropriate.

Eco-towns: Green Belt

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 7 May 2008,  Official Report, column 1037W, on eco-towns: planning permissions, whether types of development other than new homes with particular reference to  (a) commercial development and  (b) transport infrastructure, will be built on green belt land as part of any of the shortlisted eco-town bids.

Caroline Flint: We have said that no homes will be built on the green belt and our assessments will consider the effects of all development, not just homes, on the natural environment, green spaces and the green belt. We are actively encouraging innovative proposals that enhance our biodiversity and improve the natural environment, by integrating green spaces into the new towns. In some locations where fixed infrastructure such as railways or roads cross the green belt, it may be unavoidable to include development associated with these elements of infrastructure. Any development on the green belt in the final shortlisted locations would face the stringent tests set out in PPG 2: Green Belts, which has a presumption against inappropriate development.

Eco-towns: Planning

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether houses built in eco-town developments will count towards the house building targets in the relevant local authority's core strategy.

Caroline Flint: Housing built in an eco-town can count towards the house building targets in the relevant local authority's core strategy, but local authorities need to keep in mind that housing targets are likely to rise over time to reflect the growing number of households, and need for housing.

Eco-towns: Planning

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to issue a  (a) national policy statement and  (b) planning policy statement on eco-towns.

Caroline Flint: We expect to publish a draft planning policy statement for consultation in July. It will be place specific, and will be an important material consideration in the determination of any planning application for an eco-town, particularly where the development plan is silent or out of date.
	National policy statements set the framework for decisions by the Infrastructure Planning Commission, which is being considered under proposals in the Planning Bill. Its role will be to consider nationally significant infrastructure projects, such as proposals for major new power stations. This process will not apply to housing development, and there will not be a national policy statement for eco-towns. Planning applications for eco-towns will be submitted to the appropriate local authority.

Floods: Property Development

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many houses, in each region are  (a) in and  (b) due to be built in areas of high flood risk; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The following table lists the number of properties that are in areas of high flood risk according to the Environment Agency's National Flood Risk Assessment (2006).
	
		
			  Region  Number of properties 
			 North East 21,768 
			 East Midlands 174,292 
			 South East England 223,624 
			 West Midlands 59,743 
			 North West 144,091 
			 East of England 143,267 
			 South West 117,280 
			 Greater London 531,438 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 293,528 
		
	
	The Department does not hold information on where new houses will be built. Approval for new housing is the responsibility of local planning authorities, which are required to take account of Government policy including Planning Policy Statement 25: Development and Flood Risk.

Greenbelt: Databases

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 6 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1176W, on eco-towns, whether the  (a) Maps on Taps and  (b) MAGIC databases hold information on green gaps and green wedges.

Caroline Flint: The Maps on Tap service has been discontinued and the MAGIC database, run by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs does not hold information on green gaps or green wedges.

Homelessness: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) registered charities and  (b) community-based schemes providing help for homeless people in Leeds Metropolitan District will receive funding for that work from her Department in 2008-09; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: The Department is providing Leeds city council with 440,000 Homelessness Grant in 2008-09. Local authorities use the funding to tackle homelessness in their areas, which can include the funding of other organisations to help deliver their homelessness strategy. There is overall funding of 150 million going to local authorities and 50 million to the voluntary sector over the next three yearsthe largest ever cash injection into homelessness services.
	Leeds city council has also received capital funding under our hostels programme: 430,000 for Faith Lodge hostel and 988,000 for the St. George's Crypt Centre. Both projects are run by St. George's Crypt. This is part of our significant investment of 170 million to improve hostels and day centres.

Housing Benefit: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on housing benefit in the Peterborough City Council area in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  Total housing benefit payments for Peterborough city council (nominal terms) 
			million 
			 1996-97 33.1 
			 1997-98 31.7 
			 1998-99 31.0 
			 1999-2000 31.2 
			 2000-01 31.6 
			 2001-02 32.0 
			 2002-03 33.3 
			 2003-04 32.7 
			 2004-05 32.3 
			 2005-06 36.7 
			 2006-07 40.0 
			  Notes:  1. Information sourced from local authority claims for Housing Revenue Account subsidy and housing benefit and council tax benefit subsidy.  2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100,000.  3. Figures presented are audited, but may change in future if local authorities' audited accounts are amended after a decision or appeal. Figures for recent years are more likely to be amended than older data.  4. Figures relate to what local authorities spend on claimants and include discretionary expenditure (mainly disregards of war pensions), and overpayments except where benefit has been granted in advance (where the benefit is paid in the form of a rebate).  Source:  DWP Expenditure Tables

Housing: Construction

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) homes and  (b) affordable homes have been built in each London local authority area in each year since 1992.

Iain Wright: The information requested has been placed in the Library of the House. The information shows the number of new affordable homes (social rent and intermediate) built in each London borough since 1992-93; the figures exclude affordable housing acquisitions.
	Statistics on affordable housing supply (new build and acquisitions) for England were published in the Communities and Local Government Statistics Release of 12 June and accompanying live tables. The web links are shown as follows:
	 Link to Affordable Housing Statistics Release:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/838468
	 Link to Affordable Housing Live Tables:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/affordablehousingsupply/livetables/

Housing: Construction

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes were built in  (a) Chorley,  (b) Lancashire,  (c) the North West and  (d) England in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: The figures requested are presented as follows.
	
		
			   Chorley  Lancashire  North West  England 
			 2003-04 393 3,820 17,750 143,960 
			 2004-05 305 3,870 17,910 155,900 
			 2005-06 349 2,960 20,620 163,400 
			 2006-07 253 2,250 18,110 167,580 
			 2007-08 299 2,610 19,170 167,500 
			  Source:  New build completions from P2 returns submitted by local authorities and National House Building Council (NHBC). Regional and national totals include imputation for missing returns from local authorities. The local authority and county level figures are as reported and do not include imputation estimates.

Housing: Construction

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new dwellings were started in each region in each of the last three years; and what estimate her Department has made of the number of new dwellings which will be started in the next two years.

Iain Wright: The following table shows annual new house building starts in each region in England between 2005-06 and 2007-08.
	
		
			  Region  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 North East 8,076 7,833 7,207 
			 North West 24,572 19,903 17,113 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 16,694 16,984 14,926 
			 East Midlands 18,376 18,217 14,737 
			 West Midlands 15,657 15,685 14,556 
			 East 24,397 21,313 20,987 
			 London 25,542 21,094 17,163 
			 South East 31,033 31,622 31,064 
			 South West 20,559 20,731 18,684 
			 England 184,906 173,382 156,437 
			  Source:  P2/P2a house building returns from local authorities and National House Building Council on new build starts. 
		
	
	These figures refer to new build starts which do not directly relate to net additional dwellings, the key measure of housing supply.
	The Department does not publish forecasts for house building.

Housing: Empty Property

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty domestic dwellings there were in  (a) England and  (b) each Government Office region in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2007.

Iain Wright: The following table shows the number of empty dwellings in England and each Government office region in 2006 and 2007.
	
		
			  Region  Empty domestic dwellings as at 9 October 2006  Empty domestic dwellings as at 8 October 2007 
			 North East 48,287 48,066 
			 North West 136,783 141,060 
			 Yorkshire and the Humberside 90,947 101,035 
			 East Midlands 65,495 69,805 
			 West Midlands 79,208 80,359 
			 East of England 68,485 69,072 
			 London 86,701 84,596 
			 South East 102,812 101,761 
			 South West 69,441 66,881 
			 England 748,159 762,635 
			  Source:  Council Taxbase and Council Taxbase Supplementary (CTB1 and CTB1S) returns from local authorities.

Housing: Local Government Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how an increase in  (a) the number of residential dwellings and  (b) the local population arising from the construction of additional residential dwellings is taken into account in determining revenue support grant allocations.

John Healey: Formula grant, which comprises Revenue Support Grant, redistributed business rates and principal formula Police Grant, where appropriate, is largely based on the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the authority, together with a measure of the authority's ability to raise income locally (i.e. the number of band-D equivalent properties within the area), relative to all other authorities providing the same services. We then ensure that every authority receives at least a minimum percentage increase (the 'floor') year-on-year on a like-for-like basis i.e. after adjusting for changes in funding and function.
	The number of residential dwellings in an authority will be reflected in the number of band-D equivalent properties (tax base) data provided by local authorities to the Department. Data from these returns are used in the calculation of tax base projections at the beginning of the three-year settlement period. Further, the mid-year population estimates and sub-national population projections produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) take into account the changes in population as a result of births, deaths and migration, both internally and internationally. We use the latest population data that are available from the ONS at the time in the calculation of Formula Grant for the three year settlement.

Housing: Low Incomes

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new build social homes for rent have been constructed in each London local authority area since 1992.

Iain Wright: The information requested has been placed in the Library of the House. The information shows the number of new social rent homes built in each London borough since 1992-93; the figures exclude affordable housing acquisitions.
	Statistics on affordable housing supply (new build and acquisitions) for England were published in the Communities and Local Government Statistics Release of 12 June and accompanying live tables. The web links are shown as follows:
	 Link to Affordable Housing Statistics Release:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/838468
	 Link to Affordable Housing Live Tables:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/affordablehousingsupply/livetables/

Housing: Overcrowding

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which London local authorities have submitted proposals for tackling overcrowding in response to her recent initiative on overcrowding; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: Officials have met with the following London local authorities to discuss their proposals for tackling overcrowding over the next year:
	Barking and Dagenham
	Camden
	City of London
	Croydon
	Hammersmith and Fulham
	Haringey
	Hounslow
	Kensington and Chelsea
	Kingston
	Merton
	Newham
	Redbridge
	Richmond
	Southwark
	Wandsworth
	Westminster
	Officials have meetings arranged with a further 11 London local authorities. Pathfinder authorities are building on the lessons learnt from the London pilots and developing schemes to make better use of existing stock for example by offering enhanced support to under occupiers who wish to move, supporting moves into other tenures and improving tenants' quality of life by mitigating the effect of overcrowding.

Housing: Regeneration

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  if she will place in the Library a copy of the research used to select the local areas chosen for the housing market renewal pathfinders;
	(2)  what the criteria were by which each of the locations were chosen for the housing market renewal pathfinders;
	(3)  on what grounds Birmingham was added to the locations for the Housing Market Renewal pathfinders; and what role the right hon. Member for North Tyneside (Mr. Byers) played in the decision as Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions.

Iain Wright: The Housing Market Renewal (HMR) programme originated from a growing body of evidenceacademic research, Government statistics and local anecdotal reportsall pointing to large scale abandonment of housing and neighbourhoods, resulting in low demand for housing.
	Taking up this work, the Government carried out an exercise in two stages using its housing market data to identify those local authorities experiencing or most at risk from problems of low demand.
	The first stage consisted of four parts:
	1. All local authorities in the South East, London, South West and East regions were excluded on the grounds that none of those areas are experiencing widespread severe low demand.
	2. Local authorities with low demand problems in either private or social sectors, but not both, were excluded, since these were unlikely to be symptomatic of a wider problem.
	3. Local authorities with weak evidence of low demand in housing statistics returns were excluded.
	4. Local authorities with low demand problems at small scale levels and which did not relate to wider markets were excluded.
	Stage 2 then identified sub-regional groupings on the basis of areas which contained a large number of properties in low demand, a large number of properties at risk of low demand, and a high risk of more widespread failure in the short term due to unstable housing markets. Additional local authorities were added to the pathfinder groupings where the failure to include them was likely to have a serious impact on the success of action to tackle housing market failure.
	This process led to the identification of the nine areas considered in immediate need or at highest risk of market failure, which included Birmingham/Sandwell. The Secretary of State approved the final list of areas selected as pathfinders.

Housing: Sustainable Development

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what restrictions there are on physically opening windows in homes with a Level 6 Code for Sustainable Homes.

Iain Wright: There are no restrictions placed on opening windows in the code at any level.

Local Government Finance: Greater Manchester

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average expenditure per head was by local authorities in  (a) Bolton and  (b) Greater Manchester in the latest period for which figures are available.

John Healey: The average revenue and capital expenditure per head by local authorities in Bolton and Greater Manchester in 2006-07, the latest period for which figures are available is tabled as follows:
	
		
			   per head 
			   Revenue  Capital  Total 
			 Bolton 1,585 397 1,982 
			 Bury 1,343 177 1,520 
			 Manchester 1,969 438 2,407 
			 Oldham 1,517 480 1,997 
			 Rochdale 1,684 326 2,010 
			 Salford 1,761 549 2,310 
			 Stockport 1,300 259 1,559 
			 Tameside 1,830 313 2,143 
			 Trafford 1,388 168 1,556 
			 Wigan 1,431 317 1,748 
			  Source: Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn (RO) and Capital Outturn (COR4) returns. 
		
	
	The definition of revenue expenditure used here is that expenditure funded from aggregate external finance (AEF), council tax and authorities' reserves. AEF is central Government revenue funding that comprises formula grant (revenue support grant, redistributed business rates and police grant) and specific grants inside AEF, i.e. revenue grants paid for council's core services. Revenue information is produced on a non-financial reporting standard (FRS) 17 basis.
	Per head figures are based on Office for National Statistics' (ONS) mid-year population estimates for 2006.

Local Government: Gloucestershire

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the likely effect on  (a) administrative and  (b) other costs if Gloucestershire was to become a unitary authority area.

John Healey: The Department for Communities and Local Government has made no estimate of the likely costs or savings that would be incurred if Gloucestershire was to become a unitary authority.

Local Government: Standards

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the composition of Comprehensive Performance Assessment inspector panels is when assessing  (a) district authorities,  (b) county councils,  (c) Metropolitan authorities and  (d) unitary authorities.

John Healey: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission, I have asked the Chief Executive of the Audit Commission to write to my hon. Friend.
	 Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 1 July 2008:
	Your question on the composition of Comprehensive Performance Assessment inspector panels when assessing district authorities, county councils, metropolitan authorities and unitary councils has been passed to me for reply.
	The Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) for all single tier and county councils comprises the assessment scores for use of resources, based upon the work of appointed auditors, annual service assessments and a corporate assessment element. These are brought together by the Audit Commission using a set of rules, to categorise councils according to their performance, which is described by a star rating (0-4 star).
	For county councils, metropolitan councils and unitary councils, a corporate assessment is undertaken once every three years by an Audit Commission team comprising 6 people:
	an Audit Commission team leader;
	two Audit Commission inspectorsone of these is also a member of the team carrying out the Joint Area Review of Children's Services led by OFSTED or CSCI, which is earned out at the same time as the corporate assessment;
	two peersone is an elected member from a council, the other is normally a local government chief officer or equivalent; and
	an administrative support officer.
	CPA re-categorisation for district councils, from 2006, follows a two-stage approach:
	Re-categorisation activity is only taken following an application for re-categorisation by a district council. An Audit Commission panel decides whether or not there is sufficient evidence for a potential change of category. This panel comprises two Audit Commission managers with no previous involvement at the council concerned, and a peer from a district council, either an officer or councillor. If the panel identifies that there is sufficient evidence of a potential category change, a corporate assessment is carried out to determine whether a category change is warranted.
	For district council CPA, the corporate assessment team comprises 4 people:
	an Audit Commission team leader;
	an Audit Commission inspector;
	a peereither a chief officer or an elected member from a district council; and
	an administrative support officer.
	For all types of council, the findings of the corporate assessment team are subject to further internal review and challenge before a draft report is sent to the council. This review is undertaken by a consistency panel of two senior Audit Commission managers and a peer, either an officer or councillor, who have had no previous involvement With the council concerned.
	The text of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

Mayors

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities had elected mayors at the latest date for which information is available.

John Healey: The following 12 local authorities in England have elected mayors.
	Bedford Borough Council
	Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council
	Hackney Borough Council
	Hartlepool Borough Council
	Lewisham London Borough Council
	Mansfield District Council
	Middlesbrough Council
	Newham Council
	North Tyneside Council
	Stoke-on-Trent City Council
	Torbay Council
	Watford Borough Council
	The Greater London Authority also has a directly elected Mayor.

Regeneration: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received on  (a) the respective responsibilities of the Thames Gateway and the East of England Regional Assembly in respect of regeneration in Essex and  (b) overlap in these responsibilities; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: I have, to date, received no representations on the respective responsibilities of the East of England regional assembly and the Thames Gateway.
	However, the Government have invited responses to the proposals set out in the Review of Sub National Economic Development and Regeneration to introduce integrated regional strategies and give the regional development agencies (RDAs) lead responsibility for developing them in partnership with local authorities and other regional stakeholders. This means regional assemblies, such as the East of England assembly, will not continue in their current form after 2010.
	This consultation closed on 20 June 2008. Analysis of the responses received is still ongoing.

Social Rented Housing: Foreigners

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households occupying social housing were headed by a foreign national in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what estimate she has made of the number of such households in each of the last 10 years.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to section 2.1 of the Housing Report to the Migration Impacts Forum, published in January 2008, and available at:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/managingourborders/mif/papersandagendas/thirdmeeting/housingreport.pdf?view=Binary
	Information prior to 2005-06 was not collected by the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Welsh Language

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment she has made of the level of demand for the services provided by  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental bodies to be provided in the Welsh language; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: I have deposited copies in English and Welsh of the Department's Welsh language scheme, and also our overall policy on translation, in the Library of the House. The Welsh language scheme was drawn up by our predecessor Department but remains in force in Communities and Local Government. Information on the level of demand for services in the Welsh language provided by the Department's agencies and non-departmental bodies is not held centrally, hence the costs of gathering this information would be disproportionate.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Arms Trade: Export Controls

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether military equipment export licences were granted to British companies for the sale of cryptography equipment and software to Zimbabwe in 2007.

Malcolm Wicks: There has been a military arms embargo against Zimbabwe since 2000. The Government did not therefore grant any licences for export to Zimbabwe of military cryptography equipment or software in 2007.
	The Government publish detailed information on export and trade control licences issued, refused and revoked, including the overall value and a summary of the items covered by these licences, in its annual and quarterly reports on strategic export controls. The quarterly reports covering 2007 are available on the FCO website at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/publications/annual-reports/export-controls1
	The 2007 annual report is expected to be published shortly.
	Previous annual reports, since 1997, are available from the House of Commons Library, and all the annual reports from 2003 onwards, plus the quarterly reports covering 2007, are available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website via the link above.

Carbon Sequestration: International Cooperation

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what funding his Department has provided for the construction of carbon capture and storage demonstration plants; what discussions he has had with his G8 counterparts on construction of such plants in other G8 countries; and if he will seek to include the subject on the agenda of the forthcoming G8 summit in Japan.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government are providing 2.2 million to support the demonstration of a 40MW oxyfuel combustion system. The Government are also committed to supporting one of the world's first commercial-scale demonstrations of the full chain of carbon capture and storage technology. The competition to select the project was launched in November 2007 and is ongoing.
	Carbon capture and storage was discussed at the G8 Energy Ministers meeting on 8 June. The Joint Statement issued by G8 Energy Ministers states in paragraph 6:
	We strongly support the recommendation that 20 large-scale carbon capture and storage demonstration projects need to be launched globally by 2010, taking into account varying national circumstances with a view to supporting technology development and cost reduction for the beginning of broad deployment of carbon capture and storage by 2020.
	A copy of the Joint Statement, which contains the full text on carbon capture and storage, has already been deposited in the Libraries of the House.
	At the G8 summit in July, discussions on carbon capture and storage will be held under the climate change agenda item.

Construction

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the economic prospects for the construction industry over the next 12 months.

Malcolm Wicks: Construction industry output in Great Britain increased by 2.4 per cent. in 2007 (Office for National Statistics), though levels of activity in the construction sector are currently falling, chiefly in the new housing sector.
	Updated statistics released by the Office for National Statistics on 17 June indicate that the total volume of construction output for the 12 months to the first quarter of 2008 rose by 2 per cent. compared with the previous 12-month period. Output of new work rose by 4 per cent. over the same period, driven by increases in public housing, infrastructure and private commercial new work. However, new private housing work was down by 5 per cent. over the same period. Repair and maintenance work rose by 1 per cent. over the same period. Output in the first quarter of 2008 was unchanged compared with the fourth quarter of 2007 in volume terms.
	As has been widely reported, a number of large house builders are experiencing difficulties, primarily a result of the slow down in the housing sector. Consequently, market commentators have revised their forecasts for the entire construction sector and now consider that output will fall by 1.3 per cent.(1) during 2008.
	Although the housing sector appears likely to face difficult prospects for some time, the outlook for the wider sector is more promising, with work on-going in the infrastructure, health and education sectors. In addition, work is set to commence this year on various Olympic related projects and, looking a little further ahead, a number of large infrastructure and transport projects, such as Crossrail and Thameslink are at the planning stage.
	(1) Construction Products Association forecast Update17 June 2008.

Crime: Computers

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what advice his Department has issued to businesses to tackle and prevent online fraud.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government take this form of crime seriously and a variety of advice and information is available to businesses to help them protect themselves from online fraud.
	BERR (alongside the Cabinet Office, the Home Office and the Serious Organised Crime Agency and a number of private sector organisations) is a sponsor of Get Safe Online (www.getsafeonline.org) the major public-private sector initiative designed to help consumers and small business protect themselves online. The website, which has a section dedicated to the steps businesses can take to protect themselves from online fraud, is seen as a key vehicle in promoting messages about this type of issue.
	Primary responsibility for e-crime rests with the Home Office which has created, and maintains, the 'e-tailing mini site', which forms part of the crime reduction website (http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/). The mini site provides information to help both businesses and consumers protect themselves specifically when using the internet. Government are considering how we take an overall approach to issues such as electronic fraud, and will be discussing these with a number of law enforcement agencies.

Departmental Public Expenditure

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department and its predecessor spent on  (a) new furnishings,  (b) art and  (c) new vehicles in each of the last three years.

Gareth Thomas: On furnishings, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 June 2008,  Official Report, column 327W, to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban).
	This Department has not procured any art or new vehicles in any of the last three years.

Electricity: Prices

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what factors determine the national price of electricity; and what estimate he has made of changes in the national price of electricity at times of peak demand in the latest period for which figures are available.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 30 June 2008
	Electricity suppliers and traders may buy their power from generators by signing bilateral contracts at prices agreed between themselves on a commercial basis, or through trading on power exchanges. At any one time the spot wholesale price of electricity has to settle at the level which is sufficient to balance supply and demand.
	If the price is not high enough, the plant with the highest operating cost will be unable to cover its costs and so will not generate, leaving the market short of supply. If it is too high, more plant will want to provide electricity than is needed, leading to an excess of supply over demand.
	Prices paid by retail consumers also include additional costs incurred by their suppliers and are smoothed out so that most consumers are not exposed to hourly fluctuations in the wholesale price.
	The operating costs of the marginal plants tend to be determined primarily (but not exclusively) by their fuel costs (i.e., cost of the natural gas, coal or oil they burn to generate each kWh of electricity) and the cost of any EU ETS allowances they need to purchase in order to cover the cost of their carbon emissions.
	Details of wholesale electricity prices are available at
	http://www.bmreports.com//bwx_reporting.htm
	Broadly, the wholesale price of electricity at peak periods this month has been about twice the average price for the day.

Electricity: Prices

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of changes in the unit price of electricity during periods of peak demand across the UK.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 30 June 2008
	Details of historic wholesale electricity prices are available at:
	http://www.bmreports.com/bwx_reporting.htm
	Broadly, the wholesale price of electricity at peak periods in recent weeks has been about twice the average price for the day, reflecting the higher marginal costs of those electricity generating plants which tend to run only at peak times.
	Most consumers, however, pay the same per unit of electricity regardless of when it is consumed.

Energy Supply

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what sources of energy supply which are normally on standby or low output are utilised during periods of peak national demand.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 30 June 2008
	This is a matter for generating plant owners, who take decisions as to which plant to operate on a day-to-day basis taking into account such factors as the prevailing supply-demand balance; prices for electricity, fuel and carbon allowances; the capability and state of repair of individual plants; and relevant environmental considerations, such as the limit on running hours imposed on some plants by the large combustion plants directive and local air quality restrictions.
	As a general rule, however, oil-fired plants and open cycle gas turbines tend to run only at periods of peak demand or when the supply-demand balance is particularly tight, while pumped storage facilities, coal stations and closed cycle gas turbines are better suited to providing rapid adjustment to output in response to short-term increases in demand or reductions in supply. Because of their particular flexibility, open cycle gas turbines and some pumped storage facilities would usually be on standby until required.

Energy Supply: Security

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will hold discussions with his counterparts in other EU member states on the security of energy supply.

Malcolm Wicks: The UK has taken, and will continue to take, a leading role in promoting an integrated energy security and climate change policy at European level. The spring European Council this year reaffirmed the European Union's commitment to enhancing energy security, in particular in the context of the European Commission's Second Strategic Energy Review later this year. France, which holds the EU presidency from 1 July, has also announced its intention to make energy security a priority. UK Ministers will continue to play an active role in these debates over coming months, including through bi-lateral contacts with other member states.

Energy: Grants

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the average funding per head in  (a) the UK,  (b) Scotland,  (c) England,  (d) Wales and  (e) Northern Ireland was on grants made by his Department for (i) insulation, (ii) renewable micro-generation and (iii) other energy efficiency measures in the latest period for which figures are available.

Malcolm Wicks: The average grant paid to applicants through the Low Carbon Buildings Programme household stream is shown as follows:
	
		
			   Grants paid to end of May 2008 
			   Total number  Total value ()  Average value () 
			 United Kingdom 4,544 7,061,194.67 1,553.96 
			 Scotland 74 266,369.53 3,599.59 
			 Wales 411 496,946.21 1,209.11 
			 Northern Ireland 36 105,144.29 2,920.67 
			 England 4,023 6,192,734.64 1,539.33 
		
	
	The Department does not provide grants for insulation or other energy efficiency measures, as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has the lead responsibility for energy efficiency policy.

Fuel Poverty

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of households in fuel poverty in each local authority area.

Malcolm Wicks: The most recent year for which local authority level estimates of fuel poverty are available is 2003. The data for fuel poverty levels for 2003 come from the Fuel Poverty Indicator dataset available online at:
	http://www.fuelpovertyindicator.org.uk/
	The following table shows estimated fuel poverty levels for each local authority in England in 2003:
	
		
			   Number 
			  North West  
			 Allerdale 2,700 
			 Barrow in Furness 2,200 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 3,900 
			 Blackpool 4,400 
			 Bolton 7,100 
			 Burnley 2,700 
			 Bury 4,700 
			 Carlisle 2,900 
			 Chester 3,100 
			 Chorley 2,600 
			 Congleton 2,200 
			 Copeland 2,100 
			 Crewe and Nantwich 3,000 
			 Eden 1,500 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston 2,100 
			 Fylde 2,000 
			 Halton 3,200 
			 Hyndburn 2,400 
			 Knowsley 4,200 
			 Lancaster 3,700 
			 Liverpool 14,200 
			 Macclesfield 3,700 
			 Manchester 11,900 
			 Oldham 5,700 
			 Pendle 2,600 
			 Preston 3,600 
			 Ribble Valley 1,400 
			 Rochdale 5,500 
			 Rossendale 1,800 
			 Salford 6,400 
			 Sefton 8,000 
			 South Lakeland 2,800 
			 South Ribble 2,500 
			 St. Helens 4,900 
			 Stockport 7,300 
			 Tameside 5,800 
			 Trafford 5,500 
			 Vale Royal 3,100 
			 Warrington 4,800 
			 West Lancashire 2,800 
			 Wigan 8,300 
			 Wirral 9,200 
			 Wyre 2,900 
			 Total 187,400 
			   
			  South East  
			 Adur 1,400 
			 Aran 3,500 
			 Ashford 2,500 
			 Aylesbury Vale 3,600 
			 Basingstoke and Deane 3,400 
			 Bracknell Forest 2,200 
			 Brighton and Hove 6,500 
			 Canterbury 3,300 
			 Cherwell 2,900 
			 Chichester 2,600 
			 Chiltern 1,900 
			 Crawley 2,100 
			 Dartford 2,000 
			 Dover 2,900 
			 East Hampshire 2,400 
			 Eastbourne 2,400 
			 Eastleigh 2,500 
			 Elmbridge 2,700 
			 Epsom and Ewell 1,400 
			 Fareham 2,400 
			 Gosport 1,900 
			 Gravesham 2,300 
			 Guildford 2,800 
			 Hart 1,800 
			 Hastings 2,500 
			 Havant 2,800 
			 Horsham 2,700 
			 Isle of Wight 3,800 
			 Lewes 2,200 
			 Maidstone 3,300 
			 Medway 6,200 
			 Mid Sussex 2,800 
			 Milton Keynes 4,700 
			 Mole Valley 1,800 
			 New Forest 4,000 
			 Oxford 2,900 
			 Portsmouth 5,200 
			 Reading 3,200 
			 Reigate and Banstead 2,700 
			 Rother 2,300 
			 Runnymede 1,700 
			 Rushmoor 1,900 
			 Sevenoaks 2,500 
			 Shepway 2,600 
			 Slough 2,300 
			 South Bucks 1,300 
			 South Oxfordshire 2,900 
			 Southampton 5,600 
			 Spelthorne 2,000 
			 Surrey Heath 1,700 
			 Swale 3,100 
			 Tandridge 1,700 
			 Test Valley 2,500 
			 Thanet 3,700 
			 Tonbridge and Mailing 2,400 
			 Tunbridge Wells 2,500 
			 Vale of White Horse 2,500 
			 Waverley 2,600 
			 Wealden 3,300 
			 West Berkshire 3,100 
			 West Oxfordshire 2,100 
			 Winchester 2,400 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 2,900 
			 Woking 1,900 
			 Wokingham 3,000 
			 Worthing 2,500 
			 Wycombe 3,400 
			 Total 186,500 
			   
			  South West  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 4,100 
			 Bournemouth 4,400 
			 Bristol City of 10,200 
			 Caradon 2,200 
			 Carrick 2,500 
			 Cheltenham 2,800 
			 Christchurch 1,100 
			 Cotswold 2,100 
			 East Devon 3,300 
			 East Dorset 1,900 
			 Exeter 2,900 
			 Forest of Dean 2,200 
			 Gloucester 2,900 
			 Isles of Scilly 100 
			 Kennet 1,800 
			 Kerrier 2,700 
			 Mendip 2,700 
			 Mid Devon 1,900 
			 North Cornwall 2,300 
			 North Devon 2,400 
			 North Dorset 1,500 
			 North Somerset 4,700 
			 North Wiltshire 3,000 
			 Penwith 1,900 
			 Plymouth 6,700 
			 Poole 3,300 
			 Purbeck 1,100 
			 Restormel 2,700 
			 Salisbury 2,800 
			 Sedgemoor 2,900 
			 South Gloucestershire 5,700 
			 South Hams 2,100 
			 South Somerset 4,000 
			 Stroud 2,700 
			 Swindon 4,400 
			 Taunton Deane 2,700 
			 Teignbridge 3,200 
			 Tewkesbury 1,900 
			 Torbay 3,700 
			 Torridge 1,700 
			 West Devon 1,400 
			 West Dorset 2,500 
			 West Somerset 1,000 
			 West Wiltshire 3,000 
			 Weymouth and Portland 1,700 
			 Total 128,900 
			   
			  West Midlands  
			 Birmingham 26,500 
			 Bridgnorth 1,400 
			 Bromsgrove 2,100 
			 Cannock Chase 2,300 
			 Coventry 7,800 
			 Dudley 7,900 
			 East Staffordshire 2,900 
			 Herefordshire County of 5,000 
			 Lichfield 2,300 
			 Malvern Hills 1,900 
			 Newcastle under Lyme 3,300 
			 North Shropshire 1,600 
			 North Warwickshire 1,600 
			 Nuneaton and Bedworth 3,100 
			 Oswestry 1,100 
			 Redditch 1,900 
			 Rugby 2,200 
			 Sandwell 7,900 
			 Shrewsbury and Atcham 2,500 
			 Solihull 4,600 
			 South Shropshire 1,200 
			 South Staffordshire 2,500 
			 Stafford 3,100 
			 Staffordshire Moorlands 2,500 
			 Stoke on Trent 7,100 
			 Stratford on Avon 2,800 
			 Tamworth 1,800 
			 Telford and Wrekin 4,100 
			 Walsall 6,700 
			 Warwick 3,000 
			 Wolverhampton 6,600 
			 Worcester 2,400 
			 Wychavon 2,800 
			 Wyre Forest 2,500 
			 Total 138,900 
			   
			  Yorkshire and Humberside  
			 Barnsley 6,300 
			 Bradford 12,400 
			 Calderdale 5,400 
			 Craven 1,500 
			 Doncaster 8,000 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 8,500 
			 Hambleton 2,200 
			 Harrogate 3,800 
			 Kingston upon Hull City of 7,300 
			 Kirklees 10,700 
			 Leeds 19,300 
			 North East Lincolnshire 4,600 
			 North Lincolnshire 4,300 
			 Richmondshire 1,200 
			 Rotherham 6,700 
			 Ryedale 1,500 
			 Scarborough 3,100 
			 Selby 1,900 
			 Sheffield 13,900 
			 Wakefield 8,700 
			 York 4,600 
			 Total 136,000 
			   
			  East Midlands  
			 Amber Valley 3,300 
			 Ashfield 3,200 
			 Bassetlaw 3,000 
			 Blaby 2,100 
			 Bolsover 2,100 
			 Boston 1,600 
			 Broxtowe 2,900 
			 Charnwood 3,800 
			 Chesterfield 2,800 
			 Corby 1,400 
			 Daventry 1,700 
			 Derby 6,100 
			 Derbyshire Dales 1,900 
			 East Lindsey 3,900 
			 East Northamptonshire 2,000 
			 Erewash 3,000 
			 Gedling 2,900 
			 Harborough 1,800 
			 High Peak 2,300 
			 Hinckley and Bosworth 2,500 
			 Kettering 2,200 
			 Leicester 7,500 
			 Lincoln 2,400 
			 Mansfield 2,800 
			 Melton 1,300 
			 Newark and Sherwood 2,900 
			 North East Derbyshire 2,500 
			 North Kesteven 2,500 
			 North West Leicestershire 2,300 
			 Northampton 5,000 
			 Nottingham 7,800 
			 Oadby and Wigston 1,300 
			 Rushcliffe 2,600 
			 Rutland 900 
			 South Derbyshire 2,100 
			 South Holland 2,200 
			 South Kesteven 3,300 
			 South Northamptonshire 1,900 
			 Wellingborough 1,900 
			 West Lindsey 2,300 
			 Total 111,900 
			   
			  Eastern England  
			 Babergh 2,200 
			 Basildon 4,000 
			 Bedford 3,600 
			 Braintree 3,200 
			 Breckland 3,300 
			 Luton 4,400 
			 Maldon 1,400 
			 Mid Bedfordshire 2,800 
			 Mid Suffolk 2,300 
			 North Hertfordshire 2,700 
			 Brentwood 1,600 
			 Broadland 3,000 
			 Broxbourne 1,800 
			 Cambridge 2,400 
			 Castle Point 2,000 
			 Chelmsford 3,600 
			 Colchester 3,800 
			 Dacorum 3,000 
			 East Cambridgeshire 1,800 
			 East Hertfordshire 2,800 
			 Epping Forest 2,700 
			 Fenland 2,300 
			 Forest Heath 1,500 
			 Great Yarmouth 2,700 
			 Harlow 1,800 
			 Hertsmere 1,900 
			 Huntingdonshire 3,700 
			 Ipswich 3,300 
			 Kings Lynn and West Norfolk 3,900 
			 North Norfolk 2,900 
			 Norwich 3,500 
			 Peterborough 4,100 
			 Rochford 1,800 
			 South Bedfordshire 2,500 
			 South Cambridgeshire 2,900 
			 South Norfolk 2,900 
			 Southend on Sea 4,400 
			 St. Albans 2,700 
			 St. Edmundsbury 2,500 
			 Stevenage 1,900 
			 Suffolk Coastal 3,100 
			 Tendring 3,900 
			 Three Rivers 1,700 
			 Thurrock 3,400 
			 Uttlesford 1,600 
			 Watford 1,600 
			 Waveney 3,300 
			 Welwyn Hatfield 2,100 
			 Total 131,900 
			   
			  London  
			 Barking and Dagenham 3,900 
			 Barnet 6,700 
			 Bexley 5,000 
			 Brent 5,300 
			 Bromley 6,700 
			 Camden 4,800 
			 City of London 200 
			 Croydon 7,700 
			 Ealing 6,100 
			 Enfield 6,000 
			 Greenwich 5,300 
			 Hackney 4,600 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 3,800 
			 Haringey 5,200 
			 Harrow 4,000 
			 Havering 5,000 
			 Hillingdon 4,800 
			 Hounslow 4,300 
			 Islington 4,200 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 4,100 
			 Kingston upon Thames 3,200 
			 Lambeth 6,100 
			 Lewisham 5,900 
			 Merton 4,200 
			 Newham 5,800 
			 Redbridge 5,200 
			 Richmond upon Thames 4,100 
			 Southwark 5,400 
			 Sutton 3,900 
			 Tower Hamlets 3,800 
			 Waltham Forest 5,300 
			 Wandsworth 5,900 
			 Westminster 5,600 
			 Total 162,200 
			   
			  North East  
			 Alnwick 900 
			 Berwick upon Tweed 800 
			 Blyth Valley 2,200 
			 Castle Morpeth 1,200 
			 Chester le Street 1,500 
			 Darlington 2,800 
			 Derwentside 2,500 
			 Durham 2,200 
			 Easington 2,700 
			 Gateshead 5,600 
			 Hartlepool 2,600 
			 Middlesbrough 3,800 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 7,300 
			 North Tyneside 5,400 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 3,800 
			 Sedgefield 2,500 
			 South Tyneside 4,300 
			 Stockton on Tees 4,700 
			 Sunderland 7,700 
			 Teesdale 800 
			 Tynedale 1,600 
			 Wansbeck 1,800 
			 Wear Valley 1,900 
			 Total 70,400

Fuel Poverty: Pensioners

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which six energy companies provided the largest number of social tariffs to pensioners in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Ofgem published a review of suppliers' voluntary initiatives in August 2007 and updated the figures in October 2007. Spending covered in these reports includes that on social tariffs, contributions to trust funds and charities and rebates.
	Although the reports make some estimates of likely savings per customer receiving each of a range of benefits, they are not all split by pensioner or non-pensioner household.
	Ofgem will continue to monitor supplier spending in this area and recently sought views on their proposed monitoring framework for 2008-11:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Pages/MoreInformation.aspx? docid=240refer=SUSTAINABILITY/SOCACTION/SUPPLIERS/CSR.

Fuels: Prices

Peter Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will commission research into the reasons why costs for kerosene have risen more rapidly than those for gas and electricity over the last 12 months.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 24 June 2008
	Kerosene is an oil product which means the price of kerosene is directly linked to the cost of crude oil. Crude oil prices have increased by over 80 per cent. in the last 12 months (average May 2007average May 2008) and these increases have fed through to the price of kerosene. Crude oil prices also impact on the wholesale costs of gas and therefore electricity but over a longer time period of around six months. There are even longer lead-times between changes in wholesale gas and electricity and domestic retail prices. These factors fully explain the recent trends in prices and I see no need for further research into the issue.

Fuels: Prices

Peter Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the effect of increases in fuel oil prices on the domestic heating bills of those with no access to mains gas supplies.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 24 June 2008
	Fuel oil prices have been increasing due to increases in crude oil prices. According to the retail price index for heating oils, which includes bottled gas and domestic heating oils, prices have increased by around 70 per cent. between May 2007 and May 2008. However, the exact effect on households' heating bills will depend on the levels of consumption of the individual household.

Fuels: Prices

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on what dates since 1 May 1997 his Department has re-evaluated its oil price projections for 2020; and what the projected figure was on each date.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 24 June 2008
	The following table shows assumptions published by BERR for the crude oil price in dollars per barrel, listed in terms of 2007 prices for consistency. Prior to 2000 fossil fuel prices were projected on a less frequent basis so a 1995 assumption is provided.
	Projections of the oil price are made for the purpose of providing assumptions to be used in modelling work within the Department, with the focus on long-term sustainable prices and a range of plausible outcomes. The price assumptions are consistent with similar forecasts made at the time. The current projections are compiled following a Call for Evidence and reflect feedback from stakeholders. BERR has committed to updating these projections roughly twice a year.
	TableOil price projections for 2020 ($/barrel) in low, central and high scenarios. For comparison all figures have been inflated to 2007prices using the ONS GDP deflator.
	
		
			  Publication and date assumption made  Low  Central  High 
			 Energy Paper 65 (March 1995) 24.3  56.8 
			 Energy Paper 68 (November 2000) 12.2  24.4 
			 EU Emissions Trading schemeNational allocation Plan (November 2004)  30.7  
			 Updated Fossil Fuel 27.1 37.9 48.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Price Assumptions (August 2005)
			 Energy Review (July 2006) 21.2 47.7 76.3 
			 Energy White Paper (May 2007) 25.8 54.7 82.5 
			 Updated Fossil Fuel Price Assumptions (March 2008) 45.0 70.0 95.0 (High Scenario) 150.0 (High-High scenario)

National Emergency Plan for Fuel

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform under what circumstances the National Emergency Plan for Fuel will be activated; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The National Emergency Plan for Fuel (NEP-F) enables the Government to select and use appropriate emergency response tools to manage any significant disruption to fuel supplies in the UK market. These response tools may be used to alleviate disruptions in various parts of the downstream oil supply chain depending on the nature and scale of a specific incident. These tools range from demand calming measures, to the designation of selected filling stations for use by the emergency services and other essential users, and the invoking of a maximum purchase scheme for all purchases of fuel from garage forecourts.

Natural Gas: Disconnections

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of gas customers on pre-payment tariffs who have self-disconnected over the last 12 months.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has no information about the behaviour of individual customers, and cannot, therefore, provide an estimate of levels of self-disconnection.

Nuclear Installations Inspectorate: Foreign Workers

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many new staff members recruited in 2008 by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) to support additional work required to carry out the generic design assessment for new nuclear reactors are foreign nationals; what vetting and visa procedures apply to the recruits; and whether the NII is able to recover the costs of engaging them from the reactor vendors.

Malcolm Wicks: As a result of the recruitment campaign for Nuclear Inspectors that was launched in December 2007 and closed in February 2008, none of the recruits were foreign nationals.
	Whether an applicant may require a visa to attend an interview for a job in the UK is unconnected with the specific job application and is a matter for decision by the UK Border Agency, or ultimately the Home Office. Only when a candidate has received a job offer are they subjected to vetting procedures appropriate for UK public bodies. NII inspectors will normally be required to obtain national security vetting clearance to the security check level.
	Costs incurred in the recruitment process are recoverable from industry.

Oil: Reserves

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what recent estimate he has made of the size of the UK's North Sea oil reserves;
	(2)  what the UK's proven oil reserves were in each of the last 10 years, broken down by oil field;
	(3)  how frequently individual oil companies report their proven oil reserves to the Government; and what data they report.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department's latest published estimates show that as at the end of 2006 reserves of UK oil amounted to between 479 million tonnes (proven reserves) and 1,254 million tonnes (proven, probable and possible reserves), with a central estimate of around 776 million tonnes (proven and probable reserves). Full details including definitions of the proven, probable and possible reserve classification are on BERR's oil and gas website at:
	https://www.og.berr.gov.uk/information/bb_updates/chapters/reserves_index.htm.
	Updated estimates for reserves as at the end of 2007 are due to be published shortly.
	We do not disclose reserves information for individual oil fields as this information is provided to the Department by the operators of each field on a basis of commercial confidentiality. However, overall proven UK oil reserves in each of the last 10 years were estimated as follows:
	
		
			  At year end  Estimated proven( 1)  oil reserves (million tonnes) 
			 1997 690 
			 1998 685 
			 1999 665 
			 2000 630 
			 2001 605 
			 2002 595 
			 2003 571 
			 2004 533 
			 2005 516 
			 2006 479 
			 (1) Reserves which on the available evidence are virtually certain to be technically and commercially producible, i.e. have a better than 90 per cent. chance of being produced. 
		
	
	Within the licensing arrangements, all operators in the UK report to the Department at least annually on a range of data including current field production rates and estimates of proven, probable and possible reserves in the fields they operate, as well as any changes to reservoir performance or field activities which are likely to have an effect on reserves.

Post Office Card Account

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether the likely effects on small local businesses have been considered in the event of Post Office Ltd. losing the bid for the Post Office card account.

Patrick McFadden: The Department for Work and Pensions is currently managing a competitive tender process for the successor product to the Post Office card account and an announcement is expected later in the year. In advance of the procurement decision being announced, it would not be appropriate for the Government to speculate on the consequences should any individual bidder fail to secure the contract.
	The Government remain committed to allowing people to access their pension and benefit in cash at the post office if they choose to do so, and there are around 25 accounts which make that possible still generating income for Post Office Ltd. and sub-postmasters.

Post Offices: Robbery

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many robberies there were of  (a) post offices and  (b) post office vehicles in each of the last five years.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 30 June 2008
	I have asked the chief executive of Royal Mail, Adam Crozier, to provide a direct reply to the hon. Member.
	A copy of the response will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Renewable Energy: Finance

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much the Government plan to spend on renewable energy over the next 10 years.

Malcolm Wicks: The evolving nature of the challenges of climate change and security of supply mean that it is not possible to predict how the detail of our policy response and its associated level of financial support might need to change in the future. However, as demonstrated by the comprehensive package of measures put forward in a consultation on the 'UK Renewable Energy Strategy', published on 26 June, the Government are fully committed to increasing the deployment of renewable energy as part of decarbonising our energy mix, and reducing our dependence on imported fossil fuels.
	The consultation seeks to build on a great deal of support already available to the renewables sector through programmes such as those to support new and emerging technologies; RD projects; or, schemes aimed at removing barriers, such as those in planning or the supply chain.
	Public sector funding for low carbon energy technology innovation is being delivered through the organisations listed as follows. These bodies all recognise low carbon energy technologies, including renewables, as a priority, and work closely together to ensure that funding activities are complementary and together effectively supports a portfolio of technologies. DIUS Science and Innovation Budget Investments through the Research Councils, Technology Strategy Board and, more recently with the establishment of the Energy Technologies Institute.
	Research Council investments on energy related basic, strategic and applied research and postgraduate training will approach 300 million during this CSR period. The Technology Strategy Board currently has a portfolio of collaborative projects on emerging low carbon energy technologies worth 90 million and is expanding its portfolio in areas relating to the low carbon agenda through a range of initiatives including Innovation Platforms. The Energy Technologies Institute will invest up to 110 million per year in development of low carbon energy technologies and solutions over at least the next 10 years.
	BERR and DEFRA provide capital grant and other funding for low carbon and renewable energy technologies under the Environmental Transformation Fund, which has a budget of 400 million for this CSR period. This includes support for the Carbon Trust innovation portfolio.
	The Regional Development Agency, Devolved Administrations and European Union also provide support for research into low carbon energy activities among other activities.
	The Government also provide support for renewables through market drivers such as the RO and this is estimated to be worth around a billion pounds a year by 2010.

Renewable Energy: International Cooperation

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Morley and Rothwell (Colin Challen) of 16 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 641-2W, on renewable energy: international co-operation, if he will  (a) make a place in the Library and  (b) create a section on his departmental website for the agendas, minutes and documents discussed at the planned working group meetings on the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Malcolm Wicks: The Federal Government of Germany is leading the process to establish an international renewable energy agency (IRENA) and has set up a website, www.irena.org, which contains information on the preparatory conference in April 2008.
	We expect the Federal Government of Germany to put information on the forthcoming working groups' meetings on this website in due course.
	We shall provide a link on the departmental website to the IRENA website.

Retirement

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) males and  (b) females who were required to retire against their wishes in the last 12 months.

Patrick McFadden: There is no current reliable data on the number of people who are forced to retire against their wishes. The Government have committed to conduct a review of the default retirement age in 2011 and this will give us an opportunity to assemble further evidence on retirement ages and assess properly the effectiveness and impact of the regulations. The age regulations that came into force on 1 October 2006 are a significant step in helping older people in the employment market. Although they provide for a default retirement age of 65, we recognise that many older workers would remain in work past their normal retirement age if given the opportunity and for the first time employees have a statutory right to request to do so.

River Severn: Tidal Power

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  when the tender process for the strategic environment assessment of Severn tidal projects was  (a) first advertised and  (b) closed;
	(2)  whether the tender for the strategic environment assessment of the Severn tidal project was held under an Office of Government Commerce term contract;
	(3)  pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2008,  Official Report, column 624W, on the River Severn: tidal power, if he will place in the Library a copy of Parsons Brinckerhoff's statement of independence;
	(4)  pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2008,  Official Report, column 624W, on the River Severn: tidal power, what assessment he has made of the  (a) rights and  (b) financial interests that Parsons Brinckerhoff have had in River Severn tidal power projects, including the Shoots Barrage; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 30 June 2008
	The invitation to tender for the provision of a managed service for a strategic environmental assessment of proposals for tidal power development in the Severn estuary was issued on 22 January 2008. The closing date for tenders was 22 February 2008.
	The tender process was carried out using the Office of Government Commerce's 'Catalyst' Framework Agreement for Environmental Advice, Support and Delivery Services, and the contract issued to the successful consortium used the Office of Government Commerce's Standard Terms and Conditions.
	I am happy to place in the Library a copy of the relevant page of Parsons Brinckerhoff's tender, emphasising their independence and lack of financial interest in the success of any tidal power scheme.
	As stated in my answer of 16 June 2008,  Official Report, column 642W, the statements of independence and absence of financial interests made by Parsons Brinckerhoff were probed at interview and were answered to our satisfaction. As also stated in my answer, we also sought, and received, written assurances from Parsons Brinckerhoff agreeing to assign any rights they might hold in respect of the pro bono work they did on the Shoots barrage to the Secretary of State on a royalty-free basis, and to waive any moral rights they might have in respect of such work. A copy of their letter will also be placed in the Library

Royal Mail: Crewe

Edward Timpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he last discussed the future of the mail sorting office in Crewe with Royal Mail; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: Ministers are aware of Royal Mail's review of its North West mail centres but not discussed individual mail centres with the company. This review is an operational matter for the company.

Severn Barrage: Environment Protection

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will hold discussions with the Anglers' Conservation Association, the National Trust, the RSPB, the Salmon and Trout Association, the Shropshire Wildlife Trust, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, and WWF UK on the implications for the environment and wildlife of proposals to build a Severn Barrage.

Malcolm Wicks: We are conducting a two year feasibility study to inform whether and on what terms a tidal range power project in the Severn estuary could be supported by the Government. A strategic environmental assessment (SEA) will be produced as part of the study to ensure a detailed understanding of the Estuary's environmental resource, recognising the nature conservation significance of the estuary. The SEA Steering Group is made up of representatives from a wide group of stakeholders including statutory consultees, business and environmental NGOs including RSPB, the Wildfowl Wetland Trust (WWT) and WWF. In addition the RSPB, the WWT, the Anglers' Conservation Association and the Salmon and Trout Association are participating in the relevant SEA technical workshops. This provides an excellent forum for detailed discussions on the potential impacts of building a tidal power project in the Severn estuary. I am happy to meet with key stakeholders of the feasibility study.

Wind Power

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of the Crown Estate Round 3 offshore windfarm development to the UK's share of the EU target of 20 per cent. renewable energy by 2020.

Malcolm Wicks: On 26 June 2008 Government issued a consultation document asking what more we could do to increase renewable energy use to meet the UK share of the EU 2020 target. In the consultation document, we have set out our assessment of the contribution that could be made by offshore wind in the UK.
	Following our consultation, we will publish a final Renewable Energy Strategy in spring 2009 once the UK's share of the EU target is agreed

Wind Power

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the potential electricity output of the Crown Estate Round 3 offshore windfarm development.

Malcolm Wicks: In December 2007, I announced the commencement of our draft plan for up to a further 25 GW of offshore wind development, in addition to the 8 GW already planned. If built, this could potentially provide enough electricity to power the equivalent of every home in the UK. We are in the process of completing a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) on the feasibility of achieving up to 25 GW of offshore wind. We anticipate being in a position to be able to make an informed decision next year.
	In parallel to the BERR SEA process, on the 4 June of this year the Crown Estate announced an offshore leasing programme to deliver up to 25 GW. Potential developers are to be invited to submit tenders to the Crown Estate this year. Following the SEA and the Government's decision on how much offshore wind development is acceptable in UK waters, the Crown Estate will then be in a position to allocate zones for development.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Departmental Written Questions

David Davies: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many days it took on average to answer written parliamentary questions tabled by each hon. Member for answer by her in the last six months.

Barbara Follett: For the six month period between November 2007 and April 2008, it took 10 days on average to answer written parliamentary questions directed to the Ministers for Women and Equality.

Flexible Working

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government has undertaken with employers to address the balance of work and family commitments through the introduction of flexible working hours.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 12 May 2008
	 Since April 2003 employees with disabled children, or children under the age of six, have had the right to ask their employers for flexible working arrangements. Since April 2007, carers of adults also have the right to ask their employers for flexible working arrangements. On 6 November 2007, the Prime Minister announced that the Government will extend the right to request to parents of older children. He asked Imelda Walsh, HR Director of J. Sainsbury plc, to conduct a review of the question of where the age cut-off age should be set. Ms Walsh will make recommendations to the Secretary of State in the spring of 2008.

Public Bodies: Procurement

David Drew: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what assessment she has made of the ability of public bodies to bring procurement back in house because of equality issues when it has been contracted out.

Barbara Follett: Where a public function has been contracted out, the public sector equality duties still apply and these obligations, where relevant to the procurement, need to be passed on to the contractor.
	Whether deficient equality practices are grounds for termination can only be decided case-by-case.
	The EU procurement rules allow for bidders to be excluded from future tendering opportunities if they have been found culpable of grave professional misconduct.

Sexual Harassment

Maria Miller: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many claims by women for  (a) sexual harassment and (ii) sexual discrimination in the (i) public sector and (ii) private sector were accepted for hearing by employment tribunals in each year since 1997; and in how many such cases the tribunal found in favour of the claimant.

Barbara Follett: The following table details the number of sex discrimination cases brought to tribunal in all the years for which figures are available and, in how many cases the tribunal found in favour of the claimant. It is not possible to give separate figures on sexual harassment cases because these are recorded under the sex discrimination jurisdiction. Nor is it possible to say whether cases relate to the public or private sector as this information is not collected. Further explanation is provided in the notes.
	
		
			  Sex discrimination cases 1998  to  2007 
			  Number of hearings successful for the claimant/success rate as a percentage of accepted jurisdictions 
			   Jurisdictions accepted  Total disposals( 1,2,3)  Total disposals at hearings  Number  Percentage 
			 1998-99 10,157 
			 1999-2000 7,801 3,809 866 233 3 
			 2000-01 (4)25,940 5,857 1,258 417 1.6 
			 2001-02 15,703 13,268 1,136 368 2.3 
			 2002-03 11,001 9,249 1,121 363 3.2 
			 2003-04 17,722 10,254 882 306 1.7 
			 2004-05 11,726 16,211 1,076 299 2.5 
			 2005-06 14,250 24,217 4,846 4,068 28.5 
			 2006-07 28,153 18,909 1,253 463 1.6 
			 '' Signifies data not held (1) Includes cases where sex discrimination is not the main jurisdiction. A claim may be brought under more than one jurisdiction or subsequently amended or clarified in the course of proceedings. (2) This includes cases where there was an ACAS conciliated settlement, withdrawn cases, default judgments and cases disposed of otherwise. (3) The disposal figures for 1999-2000 includes cases where sex discrimination was the main jurisdiction cited. (4) This includes approximately 12,000 part time worker pension cases.  Note: Data taken from annual reports 1999-2000 to 2006-07

WORK AND PENSIONS

Council Tax Benefits: Armed Forces

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many service personnel from each service are in receipt of council tax benefit; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available.

Departmental Civil Service Agencies

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department's executive agencies have spent on foreign travel in each of the last five years, broken down by destination.

Anne McGuire: The information that is available is provided in the following table. Details of foreign travel expenditure by DWP Executive agencies is available only for the last financial year and cannot be broken down by destination. However, the figures provided include travel within the EU.
	
		
			  DWP Executive agency expenditure on foreign travel, April 2007 to March 2008 
			
			 Disabilities and Carers Service 12,968 
			 Child Support Agency 10,583 
			 Pension Service 61,694 
			 Jobcentre Plus 55,419

Departmental Consultants

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on consultancy fees in each of the last five years.

Anne McGuire: The following table provides details of expenditure on external consultants engaged by DWP in each of the last five years to 2007-08.
	
		
			  DWP expenditure on external consultancy 
			million, including VAT 
			 2003-04 306.72 
			 2004-05 168.37 
			 2005-06 130.29 
			 2006-07 162.62 
			 2007-08 76.43

Equality 2025

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the budget was for Equality 2025 in each of the last two years.

Anne McGuire: Equality 2025 expenditure in each of the last two financial years was as follows:
	
		
			
			 2006-07 353,974 
			 2007-08 531,085

Fuel Poverty: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the number of  (a) male and  (b) female pensioners aged (i) 60 to 79 and (ii) over 80 years old unable to pay their full fuel bill in Leeds West constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	This information is not available.
	However, the Government are concerned about the impact of rising energy prices on pensioners. That is why the Department for Work and Pensions is seeking powers in the Pensions Bill to allow it to share Government data on the poorest pensioners with the energy suppliers so that they can identify pensioners who would benefit from their social programmes, including social tariffs.
	In addition the Government announced in this year's Budget a one off additional payment to the winter fuel payment of 100 for the over 80s and 50 for the over 60s for this winter.

Housing Benefit

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how much his Department allocated to each Jobcentre Plus district in the UK for the payment of discretionary housing payments in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how the amount allocated to each Jobcentre Plus district for the payment of discretionary housing payments is calculated; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how much of the money allocated to each Jobcentre Plus district in the UK to pay discretionary housing payments was unspent in each year since it was introduced; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  whether the calculation of the amount allocated to Jobcentre Plus districts for the payment of  (a) exceptional hardship payments and  (b) exceptional circumstances payments takes account of average rental prices (i) nationally and (ii) in the relevant Jobcentre Plus district; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  how much of the money allocated to each Jobcentre Plus district to pay  (a) exceptional hardship payments and  (b) exceptional circumstances payments was unspent in each year between 1991 and 2001; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is not available.
	Discretionary housing payments were introduced in 2001 and replaced exceptional hardship payments and exceptional circumstances payments. Discretionary housing payments are free-standing payments made at the discretion of local authorities.

Incapacity Benefit: Birkenhead

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 18 June 2008,  Official Report, column 974W, to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), on social security benefits, how many working age incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claimants in each ward of Birkenhead parliamentary constituency initiated their claim  (a) before and  (b) in or after 1997.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of working age incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance claimants in the Birkenhead parliamentary  constituency; by ward and duration of claim as at November 2007 
			  Ward  All  Under 10 years  10 years and over 
			 All wards 7,210 4,545 2,660 
			 Bidston 1,170 735 435 
			 Birkenhead 1,925 1,240 685 
			 Claughton 875 520 355 
			 Egerton 1,120 675 445 
			 Oxton 755 465 290 
			 Tranmere 1,360 910 450 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to protect the confidentiality of claimants. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding.  Source: DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Income Support: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 9 June 2008,  Official Report, column 22W, on income support: disabled, how many people claiming income support with disability premium are classed as incapacity benefit claimants because their national insurance contributions are paid by incapacity benefit.

James Plaskitt: As at November 2007, there were 1,039,210 income support claimants with a disability premium who were also claiming incapacity benefits. Of these, 680,190 were in receipt of national insurance credits only.

Pay

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the average level of pay of those moving off benefits into 100 per cent. commission jobs in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: I will let my right hon. Friend have such information as is available as soon as possible.

Wood

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how much timber and timber products were procured by his Department in each of the last five years; and at what cost;
	(2)  how much timber and timber products were procured by his Department originating from independently verified legal and sustainable sources or from a licensed FLEGT partner in each of the last five years; and at what cost.

Anne McGuire: Land Securities Trillium provides fully serviced accommodation to the Department under a PFI contract. Timber and timber products (including furniture) for the estate are provided as part of this contract. It is Land Securities Trillium's policy to procure only legally logged and sustainable timber. The supply chain (including independent certification) for timber has been identified, and plans are in place to move towards using only Forestry Stewardship Council certified timber. Information on the volume or cost of timber or timber products, however, is not currently collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department and Land Securities Trillium have been working closely with the Centre of Expertise for Procurement of Timber to help in the development of the FLEGT system.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Children: Day Care

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average salary for daycare managers in  (a) maintained nurseries,  (b) private, voluntary and independent nurseries and  (c) Sure Start children's centres was in each year for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects information on the pay of staff working in childcare and early years providers. The average hourly pay for senior managers of full day care providers in 2006, by ownership of the provision is shown in Table 1. Data for previous years are not available in the format requested.
	
		
			   
			   Mean hourly pay 
			 All full day care providers 9.29 
			   
			 Private 8.81 
			 Voluntary 8.95 
			 Local Authority 13.87 
			 School/college 12.94 
			 Other 10.44 
			  Note: Excludes refusals or 'don't know' responses. 
		
	
	In 2006, the average hourly pay for senior managers of full day care provision in Sure Start children's centres was 9.30. Data are not available for previous years. Children's Centres were included in the survey for the first time in 2006.

Children: Day Care

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average number of staff vacancies in  (a) maintained nurseries,  (b) private, voluntary and independent nurseries and  (c) Sure Start children's centres was in each year for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects information on recruitment and staff vacancies in childcare and early years providers. Table 1 shows the proportion of full day care providers that were trying to recruit for vacancies in 2006, by type of staff and ownership of the provision. Data for previous years are not available in the format requested.
	
		
			  Table 1: Proportion of full day care providers trying to recruit for vacancies, by staff type and ownership, 2006. 
			  Percentage 
			   Private  Voluntary  Local authority  School/ college  Other 
			  Senior managers  
			 None 86 88 68 70 73 
			 1 vacancy 13 12 32 1.7 27 
			 2 vacancies 1 0 0 4 0 
			 3 or more vacancies 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Supervisory staff  
			 None 42 49 37 43 81 
			 1 vacancy 44 46 36 48 10 
			 2 vacancies 10 5 13 5 9 
			 3 or more vacancies 3 0 14 4 0 
			  Other paid staff  
			 None 51 43 61 53 35 
			 1 vacancy 34 42 14 35 48 
			 2 vacancies 11 13 15 4 9 
			 3 or more vacancies 4 1 10 4 8 
			  Note: Percentages may not sum to 100 per cent. due to 'don't know' responses or rounding. 
		
	
	The number of full day care providers in children's centres who were trying to recruit staff was too low for analysis to be carried out .

Children: Day Care

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many surveys the Government have conducted to assess the state of the market for child care  (a) since 1997 and  (b) between May 2007 and May 2008.

Beverley Hughes: The following surveys have been conducted by the Department for Children, Schools and Families to assess the state of the market for child care:
	The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey. The first survey in this series was run in 1998, with further surveys in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007. The 2008 survey is currently being conducted.
	The Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents. Surveys were run in 2004 and 2007. The 2008 survey is currently being conducted.
	The Evaluation of the Extended Flexible Entitlement for three and four Year Olds Pathfinder project included two surveys of parents, in September 2007 and May to June 2008, a survey of child care providers was also carried out in May to June 2008.
	Two Extended Services in Schools surveys have been carried out, in 2005 and 2006. In addition, an Extended Schools: Schools Survey and an Extended Schools: Pupils and Parents Survey are currently being conducted.
	The Parents' Demand for Childcare Survey was conducted in 1999 and 2001.
	The Survey of Parents of Three and Four Year Old Children and their use of Early Years Services was run annually, with six surveys conducted between 1991 and 2002.
	In addition, the Department for Work and Pensions runs the following household surveys which include questions about child care:
	The Families and Children Study, an annual survey which began in 1999, to date six surveys in the series have been completed.
	The Family Resources Survey, an annual survey which began in 1992, to date 13 surveys in the series have been completed.

Children's Centres

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Sure Start centre staff in helping children to develop language skills.

Beverley Hughes: From September 2008, all settings offering early years provision will be required to deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. This supports all settings to plan activities and experiences that can help all children to make progress in their development and learning. It stresses the importance of practitioners being alert to the early signs of speech and language needs that could lead to later difficulties and provides a framework to enable early years practitioners to respond quickly and appropriately, involving other agencies as necessary.
	Sure Start children's centres (SSCC) play a key role in the positive promotion of children's speech and language development and in identifying speech and language difficulties. We expect staff in children's centres to have a good understanding of how to promote children's language acquisition and identify speech and language difficulties as part of a centre-wide strategy and approach, supported by access to more specialist speech and language services which are jointly commissioned by PCTs and local authorities.
	The national evaluation of Sure Start recognised that some centres were doing good work in relation to children's language development but it pointed out that more needed to be done to engage parents and children's centre staff in the importance of fostering language development in early learning experiences. This is why in our Children's Centre Practice Guidance (December 2006) we said that this should be a priority for SSCCs in developing their services and that all staff should have the skills and understanding required for high-quality, responsive interaction with children. We also said that SSCCs should provide parents with the information and support they need to maximise the development of their children's speech and language skills.
	We are working with I CAN, the children's communication charity, to pilot their Early Talk training programme in 200 children's centres. This will train children's centre practitioners, alongside speech and language therapists, to develop their knowledge and understanding of language development, and the ways in which they can help support parents in developing communication skills within the home.

Children's Centres: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children's centres there are in Milton Keynes; how many are planned to be opened; and how much will be spent on such centres in the next 12 months.

Beverley Hughes: Milton Keynes currently has 13 designated Sure Start children's centres offering services to approximately nine thousand children under five and their families.
	By 2010 all children under five and their families will have access to a children's centre. Milton Keynes has been given an indicative number of a further seven centres required to reach all under fives by 2010. The Department's delivery partner, Together for Children, is working with local authorities to help them plan the final phase of delivery and to confirm the number of additional centres needed to achieve universal coverage by 2010.
	Milton Keynes's Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare grant for 2008/09 included allocations of 560,328 in capital and 3,321,586 in revenue funding for Sure Start children's centres. It is for local authorities to decide how to allocate funding to children's centres within this grant.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Enfield

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people in the London Borough of Enfield received education maintenance allowance in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who have operational responsibility for the EMA for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and hold information about payments made under the scheme. Mark Haysom, the LSC's chief executive, will write to my right hon Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Joan Ryan) with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 27( th) June 2008:
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question that asked; How many people in the London Borough of Enfield received education maintenance allowance in each of the last five years.
	Information on the number of young people who have applied, enrolled and received Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is available at Local Authority Level. EMA take-up is defined as young people who have received one or more EMA payments in the academic year.
	In the first year of national roll out EMA was available to all 16 year olds across England and to 17 and 18 year olds in former pilot areas (young people who are 19 are entitled to receive EMA in certain circumstances). In 2005/06 EMA roll out continued and EMA was available to all 16 and 17 year olds nationally. In 2006/07 EMA was available to all 16, 17 and 18 year olds nationally.
	EMA take-up for Enfield Local Authority area during each academic year since inception is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004/05 1,337 
			 2005/06 2,639 
			 2006/07 3,499 
			 2007/08 (1)3,731 
			 (1 )To 31 May 2008. 
		
	
	EMA take-up data showing the number of young people who have received one or more EMA payments during 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07 and to date in 2007/08 is now also available on the LSC website, at the following address:
	http://www.lsc.gov.uk/providers/Data/statistics/learner/EMA_take_up.htm

Extended Schools

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what  (a) numerical and  (b) core offer targets his Department has set to increase the number of extended (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools;
	(2)  what progress he has made in increasing the numbers of extended schools; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what research to assess the provision of extended schools has been undertaken on behalf of his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The Government's target is for all schools to provide access to extended services by 2010, with half of all primary and a third of secondary schools to be doing so by September 2008.
	Nationally, over 10,500 schools are providing access to the core offer of extended services with many more schools delivering individual elements of the core offer. We are on track to meet our 2008 and 2010 targets.
	We have begun a full evaluation of the impact of extended schools, beginning with a survey of pupils and parents. We also commissioned research by Manchester and Newcastle universities into the impact of full service extended schools. This was a three year evaluation that concluded with the publication of the final report on 25 June 2007 and showed that extended services helped to improve pupils attainment, engagement with learning, behaviour and attendance.
	In January 2008 Ofsted published a report how well are they doing? on extended schools and children's centres. The report found that extended services had a positive impact on a child's personal development. This was particularly true for the most vulnerable children where services had transformed the lives of some these children and their families.
	This year we commissioned Ipsos MORI to undertake a programme of research to explore the delivery of the core offer of extended school services in England. Their report will be published shortly.

Harrington Scheme

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 18 June 2008,  Official Report, column 972W, on the Harrington scheme, whether the funding for the scheme will be ring-fenced when it transfers to local authority control; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Department's White Paper Raising Expectations: Enabling the System to Deliver laid out plans for transfer of funding for learning for 16 to 19-year-olds from the Learning and Skills Council to local authorities from September 2010.
	Under the new system local authorities will have the duty to secure and commission the most appropriate and high quality provision for the young people in their area, and the funding of programmes such as the Harrington scheme and all others will be considered in this context. In deciding what provision to commission in the future, local authorities will need to consider in particular learner demand and ensuring that young people have access to the best available provision.

Higher Education: Admissions

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people resident in the London Borough of Bexley entered full-time higher education in the academic years  (a) 1997-98,  (b) 1998-99 and  (c) 2006-07.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	The latest available information is shown in the table. Comparable figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available in January 2009. Figures broken down by ward are not available.
	
		
			  Entrants( 1)  to undergraduate courses from Bexley local authority, UK higher education institutions, academic years 1997/98 to 2006/07 
			   Bexley 
			Of which; 
			  Academic year  All Entrants  Full-time 
			 1997/98(2) 1,200 925 
			 1998/99 1,450 955 
			 1999/2000 1,395 885 
			 2000/01 1,620 1,035 
			 2001/02 1,745 1,120 
			 2002/03 1,785 1,155 
			 2003/04 1,955 1,230 
			 2004/05(3) 2,035 1,300 
			 2005/06 2,100 1,360 
			 2006/07 2,125 1,420 
			 (1) Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December to maintain a consistent time series across all years and are rounded to the nearest five. Figures include the Open University but exclude those on writing up, sabbatical or dormant modes of study. (2 )Figures for 1997/98 exclude the Open University because there are no figures available for entrants to undergraduate courses at the Open University by local authority for this year. (3 )The increase in entrants between 2004/05 and 2005/06 may be greater than in reality as a consequence of a problem identified with data submitted by the Open University (OU) in the 2004/05 academic year.  Source:  Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Parents: Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps the Government have taken to assist those parents in treatment for drug addiction with parenting skills.

Beverley Hughes: The Government's 10 year Drug Strategy, 'Drugs: Protecting Families and Communities', launched at the end of February 2008, put a new focus on families, with parents being made a priority for effective drug treatment. This acknowledges the damage caused to whole families when a parent develops drug problems and highlights that an effective way to improve outcomes for children of substance misusing parents is by effectively treating the parent. Government and the National Treatment Agency (NTA) are working together to achieve this by improving the effectiveness of treatment for the whole treatment population, of which an estimated 46 per cent. are parents.
	We are ensuring that drug misusing parents have ready access to this support with assessments taking account of the needs of children, and developing of guidance on the commissioning and delivery of family friendly treatment with closer links to maternity services. We are specifically working to improve the parenting skills of those parents with drug problems through developing the family intervention skills of drug workers, by including drug misuse within the scope of initiatives such as Family Pathfinders and Respect Parenting Practitioners, extending the Family Intervention Programme for an extra 500 families affected by drug misuse, and funding the Family Drug and Alcohol Court Pilots, all of which have a focus on improving parenting skills. We are evaluating the impact of these programmes.

Vocational Guidance: Females

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what occupations his Department defines as non-traditional occupations for girls when assessing the progress Connexions has made in encouraging girls into all occupations.

Beverley Hughes: This Department does not make a formal definition of non-traditional occupations, but this is an important issue. We know that there is a clear correlation between sectors experiencing skills shortages and sectors in which women are under-represented, for example in science, engineering and technology roles. That is why it is vital that we continue to invest in and improve Connexions and other local youth support services, to ensure that girls and all young people can access and benefit from impartial advice, support and encouragement to take the career path that most inspires them.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

ERASMUS

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which programmes are being funded in the UK under the EU Erasmus Mundus programme.

Bill Rammell: The European Commission is currently funding 43 UK higher education institutions to develop Masters-level courses under the Erasmus Mundus scheme. 13 of these institutions also receive funding to provide students with an opportunity to spend a period of time in a third-country (non-EU) partnership institution as part of the course. In addition, four institutions are taking part in projects designed to improve the profile and accessibility of European higher education. Details of all the participating institutions are as shown in the tables.
	Erasmus Mundus makes an important contribution to the reform of higher education within the European Union. UK higher education institutions are among the most active in terms of developing proposals for Erasmus Mundus Masters courses.
	
		
			  Summary of UK involvement in Erasmus Mundus Programme 
			  1. UK institutions involved in developing Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses 
			  Institution  Erasmus Mundus Masters Course  Consortium Partners 
			 University of Reading Network and E-Business Centred Computing Aristotle University of ThessalonikiGreece 
			   University Carlos III of MadridSpain 
			   Trinity College Dublin 
			
			 University of Manchester Environmental Science, Policy and Management Lund UniversitySweden 
			   Central European UniversityHungary 
			   University of the AegeanGreece 
			
			 University of Southampton Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation International Institute for Geo-Information Sciencethe Netherlands 
			   Lund UniversitySweden, Warsaw 
			   UniversityPoland 
			
			 University College London(1) International Health Charite University Med School Berlin-DE 
			 Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh(1)  University of CopenhagenDenmark 
			   University of Bordeaux 2 Victor Segalen 
			   Royal Tropical Institutethe Netherlands 
			   Karolinska InstituteSweden 
			   University of BergenNorway 
			
			 University of Wales, Bangor(1) Sustainable Tropical Forestry University of CopenhagenDenmark 
			   Dresden University of TechnologyGermany 
			   Institute of Forestry, Agriculture and Environmental EngineeringFrance 
			   University of PadovaItaly 
			
			 University of Plymouth(1) Water and Coastal Management University of the AlgarvePortugal 
			   University of BergenNorway 
			   University of CadizSpain 
			
			 Roehampton University Human Rights Practice University of Tromso, Norway 
			   Goteborg University, Sweden 
			
			 University of Hull(1) Women's and Gender Studies University of GranadaSpain, 
			   University of OviedoSpain 
			   University of LodzPoland 
			   University of BolognaItaly 
			   Utrecht Universitythe Netherlands 
			   Ljubljana Graduate School of HumanitiesSlovenia 
			   Central European UniversityHungary 
			
			 University of York Public Policy Central European UniversityHungary 
			   Barcelona Institute of International StudiesSpain 
			   Institute of Social Studiesthe Netherlands 
			
			 Heriot-Watt University Strategic Project Management Technical University of MilanItaly 
			   Umea UniversitySweden 
			
			 Roehampton University Special Educational Needs Fontys University for Professional Educationthe Netherlands 
			   Charles University of PragueCzech Republic 
			
			 Institute of Education, University of London Lifelong Learning: Policy and Management Danish University of EducationDenmark 
			   University of DeustoSpain 
			
			 University of Sheffield European Public Health Management and Engineering of Environment and Energy National School of Public HealthFrance 
			 Queen's University Belfast  University of CopenhagenDenmark 
			   University of RennesFrance 
			   Jagiellonian UniversityPoland 
			   Andalusian Schl of Pub. HealthSpain 
			
			 Imperial College, London Optics in Science and Technology Institute of Optics Graduate SchoolFrance 
			   Friedrich-Schiller University of JenaGermany 
			   University of Paris 11France 
			   Delft University of Technologythe Netherlands 
			   Warsaw University of technologyPoland 
			
			 University of Wales, Swansea Computational Mechanics Technical University of CataloniaSpain 
			   University of StuttgartGermany 
			   Ecote Centrale of NantesFrance 
			
			 University of Wales, Bangor Sustainable Forest and Nature Management Royal Vet. and Ag. UniversityDenmark 
			   University of GottingenGermany 
			   University of PadovaItaly 
			   Swedish University of Agricultural ScienceSweden 
			
			 City University London Coastal and Marine Engineering and Management Technical University of Delftthe Netherlands 
			 University of Southampton  Technical University of CataloniaSpain 
			   Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyNorway 
			
			 Heriot-Watt University Vision and Robotics University of BurgundyFrance 
			   University of GironaSpain 
			
			 Cranfield University(1) Space Science and technology Lulea University of TechnologySweden 
			   Czech Tech University in PragueCzech Republic 
			   Helsinki University of TechFinland 
			   Julius-Maximilians UniversityGermany 
			   University of Toulouse 3 Paul SabatierFrance 
			
			 Imperial College London Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology University of PaviaItaly 
			   University of PatrasGreece 
			   University of Grenoble 1France 
			
			 University of St. Andrews(1) Science in Photonics Ghent University 
			   Free University of BrusselsBelgium 
			
			 Heriot-Watt University(1)  Royal Institute of Technology StockholmSweden 
			 University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne(1) Hydro-Informatics and Water Management University of Nice Sophia AntipolisFrance 
			   Brandenburg Tech UniversityGermany 
			   Budapest University of Technology and EconomyHungary 
			   Tech University of CataloniaSpain 
			
			 University of Edinburgh Informatics University of TrentoItaly 
			   RWTH University AachenGermany 
			
			 Cranfield University Aeronautics and Space Technology University of PisaItaly 
			   Paris Graduate ENSAE-SUPAREOFrance 
			   Tech University MunichGermany 
			   Tech University MadridSpain 
			
			 University College London International Masters in Economy, State and Society Charles University of PragueCzech Republic 
			   University of TartuEstonia 
			   University of HelsinkiFinland 
			   Corvinus University of BudapestHungary 
			   Jagiellonian UniversityPoland 
			
			 Institute of Education, University of London(1) Media, Communication, and Cultural Studies University of FlorenceItaly 
			   Roskilde University 
			   University of Aarhus Denmark 
			   University of Burgundy 
			   University of GrenobleFrance 
			   University of KasselGermany 
			
			 University of Manchester Law and Economies Erasmus University Rotterdamthe Netherlands 
			   Ghent UniversityBelgium 
			   University of HamburgGermany 
			   University of Aix-MarseilleFrance 
			   University of BolognaItaly 
			   University ViennaAustria 
			
			 London School of Economics(1) Global Studies University of LeipzigGermany 
			   University of Vienna 
			   University of WroclawPoland 
			
			 University of Wales, Swansea(1) Journalism and Media within Globalisation (EMMA) University of AarhusDenmark 
			 City University London(1)  Amsterdam Universitythe Netherlands 
			
			 University of St. Andrews Crossways in European Humanities University of Perpignan Via DomitiaFrance 
			 University of Sheffield  University of BergamoItaly 
			   New University of LisbonPortugal 
			 Staffordshire University Economy Of International Trade and EU Integration University of AntwerpBelgium 
			   Free University of BrusselsBelgium 
			   University of CantabriaSpain 
			   University of BariItaly 
			   University of Science and Technology of LilleFrance 
			   Prague University of EconomicsCzech Republic 
			
			 Queen's University Belfast Science in Management and Engineering of Environment and Energy EM Nantes Grad Schl of EngFrance 
			   Tech. University of MadridSpain 
			   Budapest University of Technology and EconomyHungary 
			   Royal Institute of TechnologySweden 
			
			 University of Wolverhampton Natural Language Processing and Human Language Technology Universite de Franche-ComteFrance 
			   Universidade de AlgarvePortugal 
			   Universitat Autonoma de BarcelonaSpain 
			
			 University of East Anglia, Norwich(1) International Performance Research Universite de PoitiersFrance 
			   Christian Albrecht Universitaet zu KielGermany 
			   Universidade de CoimbraPortugal 
			
			 University of Warwick International Performance Research Tamperee YliopistoonFinland 
			   Universityversiteit Van Amsterdamthe Netherlands 
			
			 University of Exeter Minerals and Environmental Programme Technische Untversiteit Delftthe Netherlands 
			   Miskolci EgyetemHungary 
			   RWTH Aachen UniversityGermany 
			   Teknillinen KorkeakouluFinland Wroclaw 
			   University of TechnologyPoland 
			
			 University of Strathclyde(1) Global innovation Management Aalborg UniversiteitDenmark Technische 
			   Universityversitaet HamburgGermany 
			 (1) These institutions are also involved in Erasmus Mundus partnerships with third countries (non-EU) enabling EU students to study in a third country institution. 
		
	
	
		
			  2. Erasmus Mundus projects involving UK Institutions in enhancing attractiveness of higher education in Europe 
			  Institution  Project  Outcome 
			 Aston University AquariusAssuring quality in internationalisation of study courses and course guidance To support international offices and student services in attracting more third country students. 
			 Birmingham Conservatoire, University of Central England MUNDUS MUSICALIS, international project in the field of professional music training. Development of information website on music training in Europe. 
			 The Open University European Distance Education Contact Credit Transfer in Virtual and Distance Education To enhance global promotion and accessibility of European universities via a European contact centre on distance higher education. Promoting virtual academic mobility to Europe from third countries. 
			 University of Cambridge BALANCE: BolognaA Long-term Approach to New Certification in Europe Series of seminars designed to strengthen the knowledge of higher education systems in Europe and the Bologna Process in North America, and to reinforce links between international offices in both regions.

Universities and Colleges Admissions Service: Personal Records

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether any personal information held by the University and Colleges Admissions Service is sold for commercial use.

Bill Rammell: The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service does not sell personal data for commercial purposes. It will, through its subsidiary company, UCAS Media, co-operate in advertising campaigns where information is sent or e-mailed to applicants (provided they have not opted out of receiving such communications). It is a matter of choice left to the applicant if they wish to pursue any promotional literature received but, until such times as they do so, the identity of individual applicants remains unknown to the advertiser.
	The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service is a company limited by guarantee and registered as a charity.

Vocational Training: Finance

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will consider the establishment of a dedicated learning bank through which  (a) individuals,  (b) employers and  (c) the Government may fund skills training.

Bill Rammell: In Workskills (published on 12 June 2008), we set out our plans to offer all adults a skills account. These accounts will enable individuals to access funding to 'buy' the skills training provision that meets their needs, as well as encouraging personal investment in skills by making the value of skillsand the relative contributions of individuals, employers, and the statemore transparent.
	From 2010, skills accounts will provide individuals with a virtual 'voucher' of funding from Government to spend at an accredited provider of their choice, or to redeem on work-based training through Train to Gain or an apprenticeship in discussion with their employer. Public funds would still flow, as now, direct from the LSC, but the money given to providers will follow the choices made by the individual, giving individuals maximum incentive to learn and providers the maximum incentive to offer what learners need. Skills accounts will also enable individuals to manage their own record of achievements, qualifications and aspirations and to access careers advice and guidance to support their choice of training.
	We have already rolled out Train to Gain as the Government's premier skills service for employers, supporting employer of all sizes and in all sectors to identify and address their skills needs at all levels. Through Train to Gain, we are encouraging greater investment from employers in their employees by giving them real purchasing power. Skills brokers help employers identify the training and qualifications that will best address their skills needs, and help them to choose the training provider that is best placed to deliver that training at a time, and a place to suit them.
	Together, these mechanisms aim to ensure that individuals have access to the funding from Government they need to realise their aspirations, and that they are empowered, well-informed and well supported in their learning journey, whether at college or at work.
	The establishment of the proposed National Learning Bank would represent a fundamental change to the adult skills landscape, and a major departure from the mechanisms we already have in train to give individuals real purchasing power, and to encourage investment in skills from individuals and employers.

Higher Education: Admissions

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many residents of the London Borough of Bexley entered higher education in each of the last five years, broken down by ward.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is shown in the table. Comparable figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available in January 2009. Figures broken down by ward are not available.
	
		
			  Entrants( 1)  to undergraduate courses from Bexley local authority, UK higher education institutions, academic years 1997/98 to 2006/07 
			   Bexley 
			Of which; 
			  Academic year  All Entrants  Full-time 
			 1997/98(2) 1,200 925 
			 1998/99 1,450 955 
			 1999/2000 1,395 885 
			 2000/01 1,620 1,035 
			 2001/02 1,745 1,120 
			 2002/03 1,785 1,155 
			 2003/04 1,955 1,230 
			 2004/05(3) 2,035 1,300 
			 2005/06 2,100 1,360 
			 2006/07 2,125 1,420 
			 (1) Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December to maintain a consistent time series across all years and are rounded to the nearest five. Figures include the Open University but exclude those on writing up, sabbatical or dormant modes of study. (2 )Figures for 1997/98 exclude the Open University because there are no figures available for entrants to undergraduate courses at the Open University by local authority for this year. (3 )The increase in entrants between 2004/05 and 2005/06 may be greater than in reality as a consequence of a problem identified with data submitted by the Open University (OU) in the 2004/05 academic year.  Source:  Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

HEALTH

Abortion

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his Department's Statistical Bulletin on Abortion Figures 2007, if he will review the abortion strategy for England and Wales.

Dawn Primarolo: In England, the Government are working hard to reduce unplanned pregnancies through improved contraceptive services and implementation of our Teenage Pregnancy and sexual health strategies. In 2008-09 26.8 million has been invested to improve women's access to contraception and help reduce the number of abortions, repeat abortions and teenage pregnancies.
	We are also working to ensure that women have access to abortion services as soon as possible as evidence shows that the risk of complications increases the later the gestation. We have made significant investment to improve early access and set a standard of a maximum waiting time of three weeks. The latest data for 2007 show that progress is being made to increase early access: 68 per cent. of national health service funded abortions took place at under 10 weeks compared with 51 per cent. in 2002.
	A review of the Sexual Health and HIV Strategy is currently being undertaken by the Independent Advisory Group for Sexual Health and HIV which will be published in summer 2008.
	Services in Wales are a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government.

Abortion

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women had had  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three,  (d) four,  (e) five,  (f) six,  (g) seven and  (h) eight or more abortions at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Legal abortions: Number of previous abortions by age( 1) , England and Wales, 2007 
			  Number of previous abortions  Total  Under 18  18 to 24  25 to 29  30+ 
			 0 134,269 18,824 58,433 24,939 32,073 
			 1 49,484 1,378 18,220 12,530 17,356 
			 2 11,136 74 3,223 3,145 4,694 
			 3 2,605 (2) (2) 787 1,214 
			 4 740 (2) (2) 225 379 
			 5 184 (2) (2) 47 119 
			 6 52 (2) (2) (2) 27 
			 7 or more 29 (2) (2) (2) 15 
			 Total 198,499 20,289 80,629 41,704 55,877 
			 (1 )Age not stated have been distributed pro-rata across age group 20 to 24.  (2) Values are suppressed where totals are less than 10 (0 to 9) or where a presented total would reveal the suppressed value.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how his Department is monitoring the implementation of the Abortion Act 1967; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department is responsible for monitoring the Abortion Act 1967, as amended, in England. The Department takes its role in monitoring the Act seriously and any complaints or allegations of abuse are investigated and action taken as appropriate.
	The Abortion Act 1967 also places a legal duty to notify the chief medical officer, via the submission of form HSA4, when a registered medical practitioner terminates a pregnancy. The Department monitors all HSA4 forms to ensure compliance with the Act.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the abortion rate per 1,000 women aged  (a) 19,  (b) 18,  (c) 17,  (d) 16,  (e) 15,  (f) 14 and  (g) under 14 years was in 2007; and what forecast he has made of the rate in each of the next 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: The reasons women seek an abortion are complex and may be subject to a number of different factors. As such, we have invested 26.8 million in 2008-09 to improve women's access to contraception and help reduce the number of abortions, repeat abortions and teenage pregnancies. Further funding will be available in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	The information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Abortion rates by age under 20, residents of England and Wales, 2007 
			  Age  Rate per 1,000 women( 1) 
			 Under 14 (2) 
			 14 2.9 
			 15 9.4 
			 16 19.4 
			 17 27.5 
			 18 32.4 
			 19 36.1 
			 (1) Rates are based on 2006 mid-year population estimates. (2) Rate not available.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women aged  (a) under 16,  (b) 16 to 18,  (c) 19 to 24,  (d) 25 to 29,  (e) 30 to 34,  (f) 35 to 39 and  (g) over 40 years of age in (i) Essex Strategic Health Authority and (ii) England who had an abortion in 2007 had (A) no children, (B) one child, (C) two children, (D) three children, (E) four children and (F) five or more children.

Dawn Primarolo: The available information is set out in the following tables.
	
		
			  Total abortions for residents of Essex PCTs( 1)  by number of previous births over 24 weeks, 2007 
			   Total previous pregnancies that resulted in a live or still birth  
			  Age( 2)  0  1  2  3  4  5 and more  Total 
			 Under 18 550 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) 567 
			 18 to 19 558 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) 643 
			 20 to 24 900 321 146 (3) (3) (3) 1,416 
			 25 to 29 426 270 232 100 (3) (3) 1,071 
			 30 to 34 191 157 255 109 45 16 773 
			 35 to 39 89 118 241 100 52 16 616 
			 40 and over 22 31 99 66 24 13 255 
			 Total all ages 2,736 981 990 417 160 57 5,341 
			 (1) Totals shown relate to primary care trusts for Mid Essex, North East Essex, South East Essex, South West Essex and West Essex. (2) Age groups are shown as published so as not to overlap ages and reveal small numbers. (3) Denotes suppressed value or where a presented total would reveal a suppressed value. 
		
	
	
		
			  Total abortions for residents of England by number of previous births over 24 weeks, 2007 
			   Total previous pregnancies that resulted in a live or still birth  
			  Age  0  1  2  3  4  5 and more  Total 
			 Under 18 18,397 782 51 (1)- (1)- (1)- 19,246 
			 18 to 19 18,532 3,388 477 (1)- (1)- (1)- 22,457 
			 20 to 24 34,298 12,807 5,601 1,284 (1)- (1)- 54,322 
			 25 to 29 17,826 9,664 7,955 3,229 987 336 39,997 
			 30 to 34 7,290 5,924 7,616 3,499 1,284 604 26,217 
			 35 to 39 3,380 3,732 6,679 3,307 1,299 781 19,178 
			 40 and over 1,151 1,430 2,927 1,709 674 426 8,317 
			 Total all ages 100,874 37,727 31,306 13,087 4,523 2,217 189,734 
			 (1) Denotes suppressed value or where a presented total would reveal a suppressed value.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which 10 primary care organisations had the  (a) highest and  (b) lowest abortion rates in England per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 years in 2007.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Highest and lowest rates by primary care organisation (PCO), England, 2007 
			   Primary care organisation  Rate per 1 , 000 women resident aged 15-44( 1) 
			  England 18.8 
			   Lowest rates  
			 5PP Cambridgeshire 11 
			 5ND County Durham 12 
			 5NF North Lancashire Teaching 12 
			 5FL Bath and North East Somerset 13 
			 5PW North East Essex 13 
			 5QE Oxfordshire 13 
			 5NW East Riding of Yorkshire 13 
			 5PT Suffolk 13 
			 5NV North Yorkshire and York 13 
			 5PH North Staffordshire 13 
			   Highest rates  
			 5C9 Haringey Teaching 32 
			 5K9 Croydon 33 
			 5K5 Brent Teaching 35 
			 5A8 Greenwich Teaching 35 
			 5NC Waltham Forest 36 
			 5C3 City and Hackney Teaching 36 
			 5LF Lewisham 37 
			 5LD Lambeth 39 
			 5C2 Barking and Dagenham 40 
			 5LE Southwark 41 
			 (1) Rates for PCOs are based on 2006 mid year population estimates

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions have been performed under the Abortion Act 1967, as amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990; and how many and what percentage were performed  (a) to save the life of the mother and  (b) where the child would have been seriously disabled in each year for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Abortions by grounds( 1) , residents, England and Wales, 1968-2007 
			   To save the life of the woman   Foetal handicap  
			   Section 1(4) total  Section 1(1)(c) total  Percentage  Section 1(1)(d)  total  Section 1(1)(d)  percentage  Total all abortions 
			 1968 59 1,146 5.4 1,304 5.8 22,332 
			 1969 45 1,842 3.8 1,849 3.7 49,829 
			 1970 45 2,163 2.9 2,048 2.7 75,962 
			 1971 20 1,882 2.0 2,237 2.4 94,570 
			 1972 24 1,711 1.6 2,013 1.9 108,565 
			 1973 17 1,228 1.1 2,019 1.8 110,568 
			 1974 9 1,061 1.0 1,686 1.5 109,445 
			 1975 8 1,068 1.0 1,572 1.5 106,224 
			 1976 10 949 0.9 1,316 1.3 101,912 
			 1977 11 840 0.8 1,474 1.4 102,677 
			 1978 12 679 0.6 2,356 2.1 111,851 
			 1979 13 592 0.5 2,151 1.8 120,611 
			 1980 7 680 0.5 1,900 1.5 128,927 
			 1981 14 752 0.6 1,818 1.4 128,581 
			 1982 11 655 0.5 2,006 1.6 128,553 
			 1983 5 538 0.4 2,019 1.6 127,375 
			 1984 17 582 0.4 2,007 1.5 136,388 
			 1985 15 524 0.4 1,921 1.4 141,101 
			 1986 6 480 0.3 1,963 1.3 147,619 
			 1987 7 475 0.3 1,862 1.2 156,191 
			 1988 11 479 0.3 1,732 1.0 168,298 
			 1989 5 351 0.2 1,651 1.0 170,463 
			 1990 5 435 0.3 1,589 0.9 173,900 
			 1991 5 375 0.2 1,710 1.0 167,376 
			 1992 2 254 0.2 1,802 1.1 160,501 
			 1993 3 163 0.1 1,935 1.2 157,846 
			 1994 1 146 0.1 1,796 1.1 156,539 
			 1995 0 126 0.1 1,823 1.2 154,315 
			 1996 3 128 0.1 1,929 1.1 167,916 
			 1997 4 117 0.1 1,853 1.1 170,145 
			 1998 2 106 0.1 1,830 1.0 177,871 
			 1999 1 94 0.1 1,813 1.0 173,701 
			 2000 3 134 0.1 1,833 1.0 175,542 
			 2001 0 61 0.0 1,722 1.0 176,364 
			 2002 1 116 0.1 1,894 1.1 175,932 
			 2003  (2)137 0.1 1,941 1.1 181,582 
			 2004  (2)128 0.1 1,894 1.0 185,415 
			 2005  (2)128 0.1 1,916 1.0 186,416 
			 2006  149 0.1 (2)2,036 1.1 193,737 
			 2007  112 0.1 (2)1,939 1.0 198,499 
			 Total 401 (2)23,586 0.4 (2)72,220 1.3 5,681,639 
			 '' denotes suppressed value less than 10 (0-9 cases). Data suppressed for reasons of confidentiality, in line with the Office for National Statistics' guidance on the disclosure of abortion statistics (2005). (1) Grounds under the Abortion Act 1967. Section 1(4) that the termination is immediately necessary to save the life or to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman. Section 1(1)(c) that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk to the life of the pregnant woman, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated; or (was part of 1(1)(a) prior to 1991). Section 1(1)(d) that there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped. (2) Total includes very small numbers less than 10 (0-9) where suppressed elsewhere.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women in  (a) Essex Strategic Health Authority and  (b) England and Wales had an abortion in 2007 who had already had (i) one, (ii) two, (iii) three, (iv) four, (v) five, (vi) six, (vii) seven, (viii) eight, (ix) nine and (x) 10 or more previous abortions.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Total abortions for residents of Essex( 1) , and England and Wales, by number of previous abortions, 2007 
			  Number of previous abortions  Essex primary care trusts  England and Wales 
			 0 3,564 134,269 
			 1 1,346 49,484 
			 2 326 11,136 
			 3 74 2,605 
			 4  740 
			 5  184 
			 6  52 
			 7 or more  29 
			 Total 5,341 198,499 
			 ''Suppressed value less than 10 (between 0 and 9) or where a presented value would reveal a suppressed total less than 10. (1) Totals shown relate to PCTs for Mid Essex, North East Essex, South East Essex, South West Essex and West Essex.  Note: Totals are grouped where there are less than 10 cases

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the availability of the morning-after pill on the abortion rate in England; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what research his Department  (a) has commissioned,  (b) plans to commission and  (c) has evaluated on the reasons for trends in the abortion rate in England in 2006 and 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: No assessment has been made of the effect of the morning after pill on the abortion rate in England.
	The reasons women seek an abortion are complex and may be subject to a number of different factors. It is difficult to attribute any changes to one intervention or event such as the increased availability of emergency contraception.
	The 2007 abortion statistics show an increase in the number of abortions in younger women which is why we have invested 26.8 million in 2008-09 to improve women's access to contraception and help reduce the number of abortions, repeat abortions and teenage pregnancies.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clinics are registered to perform abortions in  (a) Southend and  (b) Essex; whether they receive public funding to carry out these procedures; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: There is one independent sector clinic in Essex registered with the Healthcare Commission to perform abortions, there are none in Southend. The clinic performs national health service-funded and privately-funded abortions. NHS hospitals are not required to register to perform abortions.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the abortion rates among girls aged under  (a) 18 and  (b) 16 years were in 2007, broken down by region.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Abortion rates for women age under 16 and under 18, by region of residence, 2007. 
			   Rate per 1 , 000 women( 1) 
			  Region (Strategic Health Authority)  Under 16  Under 18 
			 East Midlands 4 17 
			 East of England 3 17 
			 London 5 27 
			 North East 6 21 
			 North West 5 22 
			 South Central 4 16 
			 South East Coast 4 17 
			 South West 4 17 
			 West Midlands 5 21 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 5 21 
			 Wales 4 18 
			 England and Wales 4 20 
			 (1) Rates for ages under 16 and under 18 are based on populations 13 to 15 and 15 to 17 respectively. Rates are based on 2006 mid year population estimates.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions were performed in  (a) Southend and  (b) Essex in 2007, broken down by  (a) age of the woman,  (b) grounds of the abortion and  (c) gestation of the pregnancy.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Abortions for residents of Essex primary care trusts (PCTs)( 1)  by age, gestation and grounds, 2007 
			  Age  South East Essex  North East Essex  Mid Essex  South West Essex  West Essex  Total Essex PCTs 
			 under 16 22 23 22 24 21 112 
			 16 34 30 30 43 36 173 
			 17 51 42 48 85 56 282 
			 18 76 70 61 76 59 342 
			 19 60 58 48 73 62 301 
			 20 68 52 66 86 54 326 
			 21 60 51 45 77 57 290 
			 22 52 34 63 79 53 281 
			 23 52 40 49 89 50 280 
			 24 49 32 44 66 48 239 
			 25 34 36 33 85 52 240 
			 26 47 27 30 80 55 239 
			 27 42 34 38 61 51 226 
			 28 35 22 39 71 36 203 
			 29 32 17 28 61 25 163 
			 30 37 17 25 57 28 164 
			 31 31 16 31 54 34 166 
			 32 30 19 19 43 26 137 
			 33 30 18 31 36 35 150 
			 34 38 23 29 40 26 156 
			 35 31 17 23 39 24 134 
			 36 18 15 25 39 29 126 
			 37 28 12 29 36 26 131 
			 38 22 19 19 38 22 120 
			 39 15 13 21 35 21 105 
			 40 and over 40 28 55 74 58 255 
			 Total 1,034 765 951 1,547 1,044 5,341 
		
	
	
		
			  Gestation weeks  South East Essex  North East Essex  Mid Essex  South West Essex  West Essex  Total Essex PCTs 
			 under 6 102 33 115 189 141 580 
			 6 170 73 173 261 214 891 
			 7 232 102 189 313 206 1042 
			 8 149 164 170 264 132 879 
			 9 126 132 79 170 95 602 
			 10 88 101 84 133 94 500 
			 11 54 66 37 67 54 278 
			 12 37 28 25 39 36 165 
			 13 21 18 16 19 18 92 
			 14 and over 55 48 63 92 54 312 
			 Total 1,034 765 951 1,547 1,044 5,341 
		
	
	
		
			  Grounds( 2)  South East Essex  North East Essex  Mid Essex  South West Essex  West Essex  Total Essex PCTs 
			 Section 1(1 )(a)  5,131 
			 Section 1(1 )(d)  35 
			 Other grounds  175 
			 Total 1,034 765 951 1,547 1,044 5,341 
			 (1) Information about residents of Southend is contained within South East Essex PCT and is not collected separately. Suppressed total less than 10 (between 0 and 9) or where a presented total would reveal a suppressed value. (2) Section 1(1)(a) that the pregnancy has not exceeded its twenty-fourth week and that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or any existing children of her family, Section 1(1)(d): that there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped.  Other grounds Section 1(1)(b) that the termination is necessary to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman. Section 1(1)(c) that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk to the life of the pregnant woman, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated. Section 1(4) that the termination is immediately necessary to save the life or to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which 10 primary care organisations had the  (a) highest and  (b) lowest abortion rates in England per 1,000 women aged (i) under 16, (ii) 17, (iii) 18, (iv) 19, (v) 20 and (vi) 21 years in 2007.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Highest and lowest rates by primary care organisation (PCO) and age, England, 2007 
			  Age rate  PCO  Rate per 1,000 women 
			  Under 16( 1)  England 4 
			   Lowest rates  
			  Redbridge 2 
			  Suffolk 2 
			  Luton Teaching 2 
			  Newham 3 
			  Richmond and Twickenham 3 
			  Somerset 3 
			  Harrow 3 
			  Herefordshire 3 
			  Buckinghamshire 3 
			  Kingston 3 
			
			   Highest rates  
			  Southwark 8 
			  South Tyneside 8 
			  North Lincolnshire 8 
			  Portsmouth City Teaching 9 
			  Islington 9 
			  Hartlepool 9 
			  Haringey Teaching 9 
			  Darlington 9 
			  Wandsworth Teaching 9 
			  Lewisham 10 
			  16 years  England 19 
			   Lowest rates  
			  Kingston 8 
			  Bassetlaw 10 
			  Richmond and Twickenham 11 
			  Blackburn and Darwen Teaching 12 
			  Cambridgeshire 12 
			  Surrey 12 
			  Bath and North East Somerset 12 
			  Buckinghamshire 12 
			  Westminster 13 
			  North Lincolnshire 13 
			
			   Highest rates  
			  Coventry Teaching 31 
			  Barking and Dagenham 31 
			  Hammersmith and Fulham 33 
			  Waltham Forest 34 
			  City and Hackney Teaching 36 
			  Greenwich Teaching 39 
			  Haringey Teaching 40 
			  Lewisham 45 
			  Lambeth 46 
			  Southwark 49 
			
			  17 years  England 28 
			   Lowest rates  
			  Gateshead 15 
			  Isle of Wight 16 
			  North Somerset 16 
			  Cambridgeshire 17 
			  Suffolk 17 
			  Shropshire County 18 
			  Wiltshire 18 
			  Hartlepool 18 
			  Derbyshire County 18 
			  Dorset 19 
			
			   Highest rates  
			  Haringey Teaching 46 
			  Islington 48 
			  Waltham Forest 48 
			  Coventry Teaching 49 
			  Enfield 49 
			  Barking and Dagenham 52 
			  Greenwich Teaching 54 
			  City and Hackney Teaching 56 
			  Lambeth 68 
			  Southwark 69 
			
			  18 years  England 33 
			   Lowest rates  
			  North Somerset 14 
			  Dorset 17 
			  Richmond and Twickenham 20 
			  Somerset 20 
			  Barnsley 20 
			  Kensington and Chelsea 21 
			  Cambridgeshire 22 
			  Central and Eastern Cheshire 22 
			  Northumberland and Care Trust 22 
			  Bath and North East Somerset 22 
			
			   Highest rates  
			  City and Hackney Teaching 53 
			  Liverpool 53 
			  Lewisham 55 
			  Wandsworth Teaching 55 
			  Haringey Teaching 55 
			  Waltham Forest 56 
			  Croydon 58 
			  Barking and Dagenham 63 
			  Lambeth 78 
			  Southwark 81 
			
			  19 years  England 36 
			   Lowest rates  
			  North Lancashire 16 
			  Redcar and Cleveland 17 
			  Bath and North East Somerset 19 
			  County Durham 21 
			  Oxfordshire 21 
			  North Staffordshire 21 
			  Southampton City 22 
			  Camden 23 
			  Devon 23 
			  Newcastle 24 
			
			   Highest rates  
			  Croydon 64 
			  Barking and Dagenham 67 
			  Waltham Forest 68 
			  Enfield 71 
			  City and Hackney Teaching 73 
			  Southwark 75 
			  Haringey Teaching 75 
			  Greenwich Teaching 78 
			  Lambeth . 81 
			  Lewisham 83 
			
			  20 years  England 36 
			   Lowest rates  
			  Cambridgeshire 16 
			  Nottingham City 20 
			  County Durham 20 
			  Southampton City 21 
			  North Lancashire 22 
			  Bristol 22 
			  Oxfordshire 22 
			  Newcastle 23 
			  East Riding of Yorkshire 23 
			  Devon 23 
			
			   Highest rates  
			  Haringey Teaching 66 
			  Lewisham 67 
			  Darlington 67 
			  Greenwich Teaching 71 
			  Southwark 75 
			  Croydon 75 
			  Barking and Dagenham 75 
			  City and Hackney Teaching 82 
			  Waltham Forest 84 
			  Lambeth 89 
			
			  21 years  England 34 
			   Lowest rates  
			  Isle of Wight 7 
			  Cambridgeshire 17 
			  Newcastle 19 
			  Nottingham City 20 
			  North Lancashire 21 
			  Oxfordshire 21 
			  County Durham 22 
			  Plymouth Teaching 22 
			  Hull 23 
			  Bristol 23 
			
			   Highest rates  
			  Ealing 63 
			  Enfield 63 
			  City and Hackney Teaching 67 
			  Greenwich Teaching 67 
			  Waltham Forest 70 
			  Lewisham 71 
			  Haringey Teaching 76 
			  Barking and Dagenham 77 
			  Southwark 78 
			  Lambeth 88 
			 (1) Rates for under 16s are based on populations aged 13-15.  Note: Rates for PCOs are based on 2006 mid year population estimates.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women seeking an abortion in England gave addresses in  (a) Northern Ireland,  (b) the Republic of Ireland,  (c) the State of Israel,  (d) Malta and  (e) Poland in 2006.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Abortions taking place in England and Wales, by selected country of residence, 2006. 
			  Country of residence  2006 
			 Northern Ireland 1,295 
			 Irish Republic 5,042 
			 Israel  
			 Malta 55 
			 Poland 10 
			  Note: Suppressed value less than 5 (between 0-4).

Abortion: Costs

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of abortions carried out on non-UK residents in hospitals and clinics in England was in 2007.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not collected centrally.
	Those people who are not ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom are subject to the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989, as amended and will be chargeable for any treatment they receive, including terminations of pregnancy, unless an exemption from charges category applies to them.

Abortion: Northern Ireland

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will  (a) introduce and  (b) support an amendment to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill extending the Abortion Act 1967 to Northern Ireland; what representations he has received from hon. and right hon. Members wishing to extend the provisions of the Abortion Act 1967 to Northern Ireland; what response he gave; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: It is accepted parliamentary practice that proposals for changes in the law on abortion come from Back-Bench Members and that decisions are made on the basis of free votes.
	The Department has received no representations from hon. or right hon. Members to extend the Abortion Act 1967, as amended to Northern Ireland.

Abortion: Buckinghamshire

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clinics are registered to perform abortions in  (a) Milton Keynes and  (b) Buckinghamshire; whether they receive public funding to carry out these procedures; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: There are no independent sector clinics registered with the Healthcare Commission to perform abortions in Milton Keynes or in Buckinghamshire. National health service hospitals are not required to register to perform abortions.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency admissions took place between  (a) 6:00 am and noon,  (b) noon and 4:00 pm and  (c) 4:00pm and 9:00pm in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is not available centrally.
	Latest published data show that, for January to March (quarter four) 2007-08 there were 771,217 emergency admissions via type 1 (major) accident and emergency (A and E) departments in England.
	Information is also available on attendances at A and E departments but this is collected separately.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of patients admitted to hospital in  (a) Chorley and  (b) the North-West needed treatment for excess drinking in each of the last three years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not held in format requested. However, details of alcohol related hospital admissions for the Central Lancashire primary care trust and the North West strategic health authority areas have been set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Primary diagnosis specifically related to alcohol  Primary diagnosis specifically related to alcohol and a main operative procedure 
			Total of all admissions into hospital  Admissions  Percentage of all admissions to hospital  Admissions  Percentage of all admissions to hospital 
			 2006-07 Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust 138,756 702 0.5 169 0.1 
			  North West Strategic Health Authority 2,209,405 11,627 0.5 1,422 0.1 
			 2005-06 Preston Primary Care Trust 41,677 250 0.6 42 0.1 
			  Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust 60,310 237 0.4 51 0.1 
			  West Lancashire Primary Care Trust 26,216 206 0.8 20 0.1 
			  Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority 565,153 2,658 0.5 366 0.1 
			  Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority 722,394 4,608 0.6 318 0.0 
			  Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority 760,302 3,899 0.5 374 0.0 
			 2004-05 Preston Primary Care Trust 38,545 204 0.5 32 0.1 
			  Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust 56,684 219 0.4 37 0.1 
			  West Lancashire Primary Care Trust 23,979 136 0.6 12 0.1 
			  Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority 557,933 2,541 0.5 294 0.1 
			  Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority 677,345 4,189 0.6 383 0.1 
			  Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority 742,595 3,373 0.5 397 0.1 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many under 25-year-olds were admitted to hospital in London for alcohol-related illness in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of admissions to hospital in the London strategic health authority (SHA) area where the patient was under 25 years old and had a primary or secondary diagnosis that was specifically alcohol-related at the start of his or her stay was 2,174 in 2006-07. This is the latest period for which data are available.
	 Notes:
	1. This figure is for national health service hospitals in England and activity performed in the independent sector in England commissioned by the English NHS.
	2.  Admissions
	The technical term for what has been supplied is finished admission episodes (FAEs). An FAE is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	3.  Assignment of Episodes to Years
	Years are assigned by the end of the first period of care in a patient's hospital stay.
	4.  Data Quality
	HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.
	5.  Mentions of a diagnosis
	This figure represents a count of all mentions of a diagnosis in any of the 14 diagnosis fields in the HES data set. Therefore, if a diagnosis is mentioned in more than one diagnosis field during an episode, all diagnoses are counted. Diagnosis codes used:
	mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol;
	alcoholic liver disease; and
	toxic effect of alcohol.
	6.  Ungrossed Data
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	7.  PCT and SHA Data Quality
	PCT and SHA data were added to historic data-years in the HES database using 2002-03 boundaries, as a one-off exercise in 2004. The quality of the data on PCT of treatment and SHA of treatment is poor in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99, with over a third of all finished episodes having missing values in these years. Data quality on PCT of general practitioner (GP) practice and SHA of GP practice in 1997-98 and 1998-99 is also poor, with a high proportion missing values where practices changed or ceased to exist. There is less change in completeness of the residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis including these years need to be aware of these issues in their interpretation of the data.
	 Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the Information Centre for health and social care.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for people with an alcohol addiction for an appointment with a psychiatric nurse  (a) nationally and  (b) broken down by region in the latest period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: On 1 November 2005 the Department published the Alcohol Needs Assessment Research Project (ANARP) assessment of alcohol needs in England. Copies of this publication are available in the Library. Its main focus was the measurement of the gap between the demand for and provision of specialist alcohol treatment services in England at a national and regional level.
	ANARP conducted their research over a period of six months between September 2004 and February 2005. As part of this work waiting times for an appointment with a psychiatric nurse were recorded. The following table gives the average waiting time for an appointment with a psychiatric nurse for those with alcohol addiction for England and by region:
	
		
			  Region  Average waiting time (weeks) 
			 East Midlands 3.91 
			 Eastern 6.31 
			 London 4.07 
			 North East 6.50 
			 North West 4.33 
			 South East 3.34 
			 South West 6.42 
			 West Midlands 3.96 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 4.85 
			 England 4.60 
		
	
	Except for ANARP, data on those receiving alcohol treatment have not been routinely collected. However, on 1 April 2008 the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System, which collects data on people in structured drug treatment, was expanded to include the collection of alcohol treatment data.
	This system is called the National Alcohol Treatment Monitoring System and although it is too early in its use to provide quality assured data, it will in time allow the Department, strategic health authorities and primary care trusts to monitor alcohol treatment services, including information on waiting times.

Analgesics

Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the National Health Service was of the provision of analgesics to patients in England in the latest period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: Analgesics are listed in section 4.7 of the British National Formulary. The total net ingredient cost for these drugs dispensed, in the community, in England, in 2007 was 450.8 million(1).
	(1) Source:
	Prescription Cost Analysis System.

Bedfordshire Primary Care Trust: Finance

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will amend the funding formula for Bedfordshire Primary Care Trust to take account of expenditure incurred in providing healthcare to detainees at the Yarl's Wood Detention and Removal Centre.

Ben Bradshaw: Revenue allocations are made to primary care trusts (PCTs) on the basis of a fair funding formula which directs funding to those areas of greatest need. The primary determinant of need is the size of the population for which PCTs are responsible and, therefore, populations are the basis upon which weighted capitation targets are calculated.
	The Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA), an independent body consisting of national health service management, general practitioners and academics, continually oversees the development of the funding formula. As part of its recent review, ACRA has considered the population base for revenue allocations post 2008-09. This includes how asylum seekers are accounted for within the population base.
	ACRA's final recommendations are currently with Ministers for consideration. The intention is to announce the outcome of the review alongside allocations to PCTs for 2009-10 and 2010-11 before the summer recess.
	The UK Border Agency funds the provision of primary healthcare services for persons detained at Yarl's Wood Detention and Removal Centre through the operating contract for the centre.

Bedfordshire Primary Care Trust: Finance

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what costs have been incurred by Bedfordshire Primary Care Trust in providing healthcare for detainees at the Yarl's Wood Detention and Removal Centre in  (a) 2007-08,  (b) 2006-07 and  (c) 2005-06.

Ivan Lewis: The requested information is not held centrally.
	It is for Bedfordshire primary care trust to commission appropriate services for those detained at Yarl's Wood, over and above the primary health care services provided on site by the Home Office.
	The hon. Member may therefore wish to raise this locally.

Blood Transfusions

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has paid to the  (a) MacFarlane Trust and  (b) Skipton Fund to support (i) haemophiliacs and (ii) dependants of haemophiliacs infected with HIV and hepatitis C as a result of contaminated blood products administered to them under NHS treatment in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Details of funding since 1990 for the Macfarlane Trust and Skipton Fund Ltd. are shown as follows:
	
		
			  Macfarlane Trust and Skipton Fund Ltd.: Funding by the Department of Health 
			  000 
			  Year ending 31 March  Macfarlane Trust  Skipton Fund Ltd. 
			 1990 100 0 
			 1991 130 0 
			 1992 136 0 
			 1993 5,165 0 
			 1994 158 0 
			 1995 166 0 
			 1996 2,662 0 
			 1997 173 0 
			 1998 3,177 0 
			 1999 181 0 
			 2000 2,187 0 
			 2001 2,693 0 
			 2002 2,448 0 
			 2003 284 0 
			 2004 3,469 0 
			 2005 3,287 (1)70,147 
			 2006 3,778 14,000 
			 2007 3,754 7,000 
			 2008 3,754 6,400 
			 (1) includes funding for the month of March 2004.   Notes:  1. Funding to both organisations covers both payments to beneficiaries and administration costs.  2. It is not possible to provide separate figures in relation to haemophiliacs, and their dependents.

Cancer: Per Capita Costs

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the per capita public expenditure on cancer care within Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The requested information is not held centrally.

Cord Blood

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans National Health Service Blood and Transplant has to relocate cord blood collection sites to Bristol; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has no plans to relocate cord blood collection sites to Bristol. Cord blood will continue to be collected from the four hospitals in North London where this currently takes place. Each has been selected on the basis of their high number of births from the black and ethnic minority population, with collection also due to begin at a fifth hospital, St. George's in Tooting later this year.
	The four collection centres for cord blood are:
	Luton and Dunstable Hospital;
	Barnet General Hospital;
	Northwick Park Hospital; and
	Watford General Hospital.
	The banking and processing of cord blood will move to NHSBT's new state-of-the-art centre at Filton, near Bristol, which will also house other stem cell activities.

Cord Blood

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many units of cord blood collected by the NHS Cord Blood bank since 2005 were not suitable for clinical use.

Dawn Primarolo: The NHS Cord Blood Bank has supplied the information shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Total units collected  Unsuitable units  Percentage of total unsuitable 
			 2004-05 2,543 1,065 41.9 
			 2005-06 2,056 996 48.5 
			 2006-07 2,232 993 44.5 
			 2007-08 2,632 840 32 
		
	
	Unfortunately, not every cord blood collection is successful in producing a unit that can be used for transplant or research. This can be due to a low volume of cord blood or if the cord blood clots during the collection procedure, there is the presence of microbiological infection or consent to use it is withdrawn. On average, public blood banks around the world find approximately 50 per cent. of donations suitable for processing and storage.

Dental Services: Greater Manchester

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists have left the NHS in  (a) Bolton and  (b) Greater Manchester in the last 12 months.

Ann Keen: Under the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, NHS Business Services Authority Dental Services Division can only provide validated information on the number of dentists leaving the national health service at disproportionate cost.
	The Department is increasing the number of dentists for the long term. The Department has increased the number of undergraduate training places by 25 per cent. and established two dental schools (in Plymouth and Preston) which opened in autumn 2007.

Dental Services: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent NHS general dental practitioners there are in York; and how many there were in each of the last two years.

Ann Keen: The number of national health service dentists on primary care trust (PCT) lists in England, as at 31 March, 1997 to 2006 is available in Annex E of the NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report England: 31 March 2006 report. The information is provided by strategic health authority (SHA) and by PCT. This information is based on the old contractual arrangements which were in place up to and including 31 March 2006.
	This report, published by the Information Centre for health and social care (IC), on 23 August 2006, is available in the Library and is also available on the Information Centre for health and social care's website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-activity-and-workforce-report-england-31-march-2006
	The number of dentists on open NHS contracts in England as at 30 June 2006, 30 September 2006, 31 December 2006, and 31 March 2007 are available in Table E1 of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2006-07 report. This information is based on the new contractual arrangements introduced on 1 April 2006. The information is provided by SHA and by PCT.
	This report, published by the IC, on 23 August 2007, is available in the Library and is also available on the IC's website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0607
	The numbers quoted are headcounts and do not differentiate between full-time and part-time dentists, nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.
	The methodology for counting and reporting the NHS dental work force is currently under review. The review, led by analysts at the IC and the Statistical Directorate of the Welsh Assembly Government, working in liaison with the Dental Services Division of the NHS Business Services Authority, aims to ensure that following the first year of the new dental contractual arrangements, the figures provide an appropriate measure of the work force.
	The work force data provided in the NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2006-07 report will therefore remain the latest available until this review is complete. The review is currently at consultation stage and is due to end on 11 July 2008.
	The intention is to publish work force data in the NHS Dental Statistics for England, 2007-08 report which is due to be published in August 2008.

Dental Services: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) adults and  (b) children are registered with NHS general dental practices in York; and how many were registered at York practices in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The numbers of patients registered with a national health service dentist as at 31 March, 1997 to 2006 are available in Annex A of the NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report, England: 31 March 2006. Information is provided for adults and children by strategic health authority (SHA) and by primary care trust (PCT).
	This information is based on the old contractual arrangements, which were in place up to and including 31 March 2006. This report, published on 23 August 2006, is available in the Library and is also available on the Information Centre for health and social care's (IC's) website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-activity-and-workforce-report-england-31-march-2006
	Under the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, patients do not have to be registered with an NHS dentist to receive NHS care. The closest equivalent measure to 'registration' is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services ('patients seen') over a 24-month period. However, this is not directly comparable to the registration data for earlier years.
	Information on the numbers of patients seen by an NHS dentist in England, over the previous 24-month period, is available in Table C1 of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England: Quarter 3: 31 December 2007 report. Information is available for the 24-month periods ending 31 March 2006, 31 March 2007, 30 June 2007, 30 September 2007, and 31 December 2007. Information is provided for adults and children by SHA and PCT.
	This report, published on 5 June 2008, is available in the Library and is available on the IC's website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0708q3
	Both the aforementioned reports have been published by the IC.

Dental Services: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on NHS general dental services in  (a) North Yorkshire and  (b) York in (i) cash and (ii) real terms in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: For 2006-07, data on primary dental care expenditure can be derived from primary care trust (PCT) accounts. These data reflect the new contract framework for primary dental care services introduced from 1 April 2006 which takes account of all relevant service costs, and is based on the PCT areas introduced from 1 October 2006. However, it is not directly comparable with the available pre-2006 data. Expenditure on primary dental services in the North Yorkshire and York PCT in 2006-07 is shown in the following table. The PCT's accounts do not separately distinguish between expenditure in North Yorkshire, and York City.
	
		
			  Expenditure on primary dental care services in North Yorkshire and York PCT in 2006-07 
			   000 
			 Gross expenditure 32,165 
			 Dental charges paid by patients 8,875 
			 Net expenditure 23,290 
			  Source:  Calculated from details of gross primary dental care expenditure, and income from dental charges, recorded in the notes to the 2006-07 PCT accounts. 
		
	
	Prior to April 2006, most primary dental services were provided under former general dental services (GDS) arrangements. These were demand-led services where the pattern of dental expenditure was largely determined by where dentists chose to practice and how much national health service work they chose to undertake.
	The Information Centre for health and social care holds local level information on the expenditure for NHS primary dental care under the former GDS and personal dental services arrangements. Expenditure information in cash and real terms (2006-07 prices), for the financial years 1997-98 to 2005-06 is available for the following PCTs:
	Selby and York;
	Hambleton and Richmondshire;
	Craven, Harrogate and Rural District;
	and Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale.
	This information is contained in the document, Expenditure on General Dental Services and Personal Dental Services in North Yorkshire, 1997-98 to 2005-06, copies of which have been placed in the Library.

Dental Services: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average remuneration of a full-time equivalent NHS general dental practitioner is in  (a) North Yorkshire and  (b) York; and what it was in (i) cash and (ii) real terms in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: Average remuneration per full-time equivalent national health service general dental practitioner in the North Yorkshire and York primary care trust (PCT) area alone is not identifiable from data held centrally.
	All estimated average annual net incomes, between the financial years 1997-98 and 2005-06, of general dental service (GDS) dentists with a reasonable commitment to the GDS are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Estimated average GDS net income for dentists with a reasonable GDS commitment( 1) , 1997-98 to 2005-06, England and Wales 
			   
			  Financial year  Estimated average net income (cash terms)  Estimated average net income (real terms2005-06 prices) 
			 1997-98 51,200 62,000 
			 1998-99 54,300 64,100 
			 1999-2000 55,700 64,400 
			 2000-01 59,200 67,500 
			 2001-02 60,500 67,400 
			 2002-03 63,300 68,400 
			 2003-04 72,000 75,600 
			 2004-05 71,600 73,100 
			 2005-06 83,100 83,100 
			  Notes: 1. Dentists with a reasonable commitment to the GDS exclude dentists with the lowest gross NHS earnings who will be doing mainly private work. Dentists covered are those with gross GDS earnings of 62,200 or more in 2005-06 with equivalent lower earnings requirements in previous years after allowing for fee increases. This category will include dentists whose NHS commitment ranges from virtually full-time to part-time. 2. The ratio of expenses to gross income is estimated using HMRC tax data on the overall earnings and expenses of non-associate dentists. Average net income prior to 2003-04 is estimated by multiplying the average gross GDS payment in that year (based on National Health Service Business Services Authority payment data) by the most up to date net income ratio available for that year (based on HMRC data relating to all non-associate dentists in Great Britain). For 2003-04 to 2005-06, net income has been estimated using GDS payment data for each year multiplied by the profit ratio for dentists with a high-commitment to the NHS for the respective year. 3. Figures converted into real terms using gross domestic product deflator at market prices. The income figures cover both estimated fees for treatments and patient capitation as well as other estimated payments such as seniority payments, commitment payments and payments for maternity and sickness payable under the pre-April 2006 dental contract. Income from private dentistry is excluded. Income for individual dentists will depend on associate arrangements with other dentists.  Source: Department of Health and Information Centre for health and social care analysis of Dental Practice Board payments and HM Revenue and Customs (HRMC) tax data.

Departmental Assets

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health over what period his Department depreciates the asset value of its  (a) vehicles,  (b) computer hardware,  (c) bespoke computer software,  (d) standard computer software,  (e) furniture and  (f) telecommunications equipment.

Ben Bradshaw: Assets owned by the Department are depreciated over periods consistent with the accounting standards laid out in the Government Financial Reporting Manual.

Departmental Consultants

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on consultancy fees in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not collect information on contracts in the format requested. To do so would attract disproportionate cost.
	A new business management system was introduced on 1 July 2008, which is be able to gather such future but not retrospective information for the Department.

Departmental Energy

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to reduce its energy consumption in the last 12 months; and what his Department's expenditure on energy was in  (a) the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available and  (b) the immediately preceding 12 months.

Ben Bradshaw: We are committed to reducing our energy consumption across our estate. We have been working with the Carbon Trust to identify energy saving measures, and we have recently appointed a consultant to work with us to implement a Carbon Management programme throughout our core estate and in our arms length bodies.
	Over the past 12 months we have introduced a new managed print service where existing printers, photocopiers and fax machines have been replaced by multi-function devices. This has reduced the number of print devices by three-quarters. The ratio of staff to printers has reduced from 3:1 to an average of 10:1.
	We have taken part in a number of staff events aimed at encouraging people to save energy, both at work and at home.
	The Department's expenditure on energy was:
	
		
			  April 2007 to March 2008 
			
			 Electricity 949,735 
			 Gas 145,703 
		
	
	
		
			  The immediately preceding 12 months 
			
			 Electricity 911,062 
			 Gas 157,685 
		
	
	The Sustainable Development Commission publishes an annual Sustainable Development in Government report reporting Government's progress against sustainability targets. The Department came top of the report (covering April 2006 to March 2007), with a score of 97.3 per cent.

Departmental Freedom of Information

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what requests for information on  (a) abortion,  (b) contraception,  (c) reproductive health issues and  (d) euthanasia were made to his Department under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in each year since 2005; and whether each request was (i) agreed to and (ii) refused.

Dawn Primarolo: The following tables show the numbers of requests received and nature of responses provided on each of the topics specified for each year since 2005. More detailed information listing all requests received has been placed in the Library.
	
		
			  Abortion 
			   Received  Agreed/ answered in full  Agreed answered in part  Refused  Not held 
			 2005 18 1 3 14 0 
			 2006 12 4 4 2 2 
			 2007 14 8 5 0 1 
			 2008 (to June)(1) 18 6 4 4 2 
		
	
	
		
			  Contraception 
			   Received  Agreed/ answered in full  Agreed answered in part  Refused  Not held 
			 2006 7 3 1 0 3 
			 2007 2 1 1 0 0 
			 2008 (to June) 3 1 1 0 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Reproductive health issues 
			   Received  Agreed/ answered in full  Agreed answered in part  Refused  Not held 
			 2005(2) 10 3 1 1 3 
			 2006 18 11 1 1 5 
			 2007(2) 21 9 1 2 8 
			 2008 (to June) 2 2 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Euthanasia 
			   Received  Agreed/ answered in full  Agreed/ answered in part  Refused  Not held 
			 2005(3) 1 1 0 0 0 
			 (1). To date two requests for 2008 have not yet been answered. (2). The Department asked requesters to provide further clarification or their requests for one request in 2005 and one in 2007. (3). No requests were received in 2006, 2007 or 2008.  Note: The responses described in the tables above are the initial responses provided to the requester in each case. Responses listed are: 'Agreed - answered in full'; 'Answered in part, where part of the information requested was either not held or subject to an exemption under the Freedom of Information Act; 'Refused', where all of the information requested was considered to be exempt under the Act; and 'Information not held', where the Department did not hold the information requested. 
		
	
	In one of the cases listed, a 2005 request asking How many 11/12/13/14 years olds had abortions in England and Wales in 2003-04? the requester appealed successfully to the Information Commissioner, and the information was subsequently released.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to page 148 of his Department's Annual Report 2008, if he will provide a breakdown of the 1.4 billion central capital budgets, stating what percentage of this funding has already been allocated.

Ben Bradshaw: The figures behind the 1.4 billion allocation for central budgets in the Department of Health departmental report 2008 are shown in the following table. These are budgets for central expenditure and were notified to Department's budget-holders in March 2008. It should be noted that changes will be made from time to time to the value of individual budgets as requirements are refined in the course of the year.
	
		
			  2008-09 Capital resource 
			  Description of budget  000 
			 Total Arms Length Body capital requirement 136,355 
			 Connecting for Health, the National Programme for Information Technology 917,000 
			 Capital resource cover for Wave 2 independent sector treatment centre procurements and resources for enabling works 29,500 
			 Electronic staff record 21,200 
			 Various human resources initiatives, principally the development of E-learning 22,000 
			 Skills for Care 2,000 
			 Capital Grants for Improvements to environments in hospicescompletion of 2006 programme 2,100 
			 Social enterprises 11,000 
			 Tuberculosis action plan 5,000 
			 Investment in capital procurement vehicles, principally National Health Service Local Improvement Finance Trust 30,000 
			 Protection of children and vulnerable people 3,945 
			 Pandemic Flu, purchase of vaccines and anti-virals and other stocks 51,340 
			 Departmental Administration 19,970 
			 Total allocated for central expenditure 1,251,410 
			 Contingency fund to cover risks 148,590 
			 Total central budgets 1,400,000

Departmental Records

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what files his Department holds on  (a) the Abortion (Rights of Ancillary Workers) Bill of Session 1988-89,  (b) the Abortion (Right of Conscience) Bill of Session 1988-89 and  (c) the Abortion (Amendment of Grounds) Bill of Session 1988-89; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not hold any files on the Abortion (Rights of Ancillary Workers) Bill of Session 1988-89, the Abortion (Right of Conscience) Bill of Session 1988-89 and the Abortion (Amendment of Grounds) Bill of Session 1988-89.

Drownings

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) persons under 16 years,  (b) persons aged 16 to 18 years and  (c) persons aged over 18 years were admitted to hospital after drowning in (i) public swimming pools, (ii) private swimming pools, (iii) garden ponds and (iv) public lakes and ponds in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: The following tables contain relevant available information collected centrally, namely total admissions to hospital after drowning and submersion in a swimming pool, natural water, other specified drowning and submersion, and unknown drowning or submersion at the start of his/her stay broken down by persons under 16 years, persons aged 16-18 years, and persons aged over 18 years in 2002-03.
	The figures also do not include drownings that occurred in, or as a result of, a fall into a bath tub.
	National health service hospitals England and activity performed in the independent sector in England commissioned by English NHS.
	
		
			  2002-03 
			   0-15 years  16-18 years  19 years and over  Total 
			 Drowning and submersion while in or following a fall into a swimming pool 45 1 12 58 
			 Drowning and submersion while in or following a fall into natural water 24 1 44 69 
			 Other specified drowning and submersion 17 0 9 26 
			 Unspecified drowning and submersion 63 0 55 118 
		
	
	
		
			  2003-04 
			   0-15 years  16-18 years  19 years and over  Unknown or unspecified age  Total 
			 Drowning and submersion while in or following a fall into a swimming pool 44 0 12 0 56 
			 Drowning and submersion while in or following a fall into natural water 39 1 51 1 92 
			 Other specified drowning and submersion 18 2 4 0 24 
			 Unspecified drowning and submersion 68 2 58 0 128 
		
	
	
		
			  2004-05 
			   0-15 years  16-18 years  19 years and over  Total 
			 (Drowning and submersion while in or following a fall into a swimming pool 50 3 12 65 
			 Drowning and submersion while in or following a fall into natural water 33 3 54 90 
			 Other specified drowning and submersion 18 1 6 25 
			 Unspecified drowning and submersion 53 5 60 118 
		
	
	
		
			  2005-06 
			   0-15 years  16-18 years  19 years and over  Unknown or unspecified age  Total 
			 Drowning and submersion while in or following a fall into a swimming pool 53 2 13 0 68 
			 Drowning and submersion while in or following a fall into natural water 17 3 48 1 69 
			 Other specified drowning and submersion 13 0 3 0 16 
			 Unspecified drowning and submersion 34 7 57 0 98 
		
	
	
		
			  2006-07 
			   0-15 years  16-18 years  19 years and over  Total 
			 Drowning and submersion while in or following a fall into a swimming pool 32 1 12 45 
			 Drowning and submersion while in or following a fall into natural water 35 4 68 107 
			 Other specified drowning and submersion 13 1 7 21 
			 Unspecified drowning and submersion 52 5 66 123 
			  Notes: International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD10) codes for drowning: 1. Drowning and submersion while in or following a fall into a swimming pool. W67Drowning and submersion while in swimming pool. W68Drowning and submersion following fall into swimming pool. 2. Drowning and submersion while in or following a fall into natural water. W69Drowning and submersion while in natural water W70Drowning and submersion following fall into natural water 3. Other specified drowning and submersion. W73Other specified drowning and submersion 4. Unspecified drowning and submersion. W74 Unspecified drowning and submersion  Admissions: Admissions are defined as the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  Cause Code: The cause code is a supplementary code that indicates the nature of any external cause of injury, poisoning or other adverse effects.  Data Quality: HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. Data are also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. Whilst this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Assessing growth through time: HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. During the years that these records have been collected the NHS there have been ongoing improvements in quality and coverage. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity. Changes in NHS practice also need to be home in mind when analysing time series. For example a number of procedures may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and may no longer be accounted in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time.  Ungrossed data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care

Elderly: Abuse

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department  (a) has commissioned,  (b) plans to commission and  (c) has evaluated on the levels of abuse of older people who are (i) resident in care homes and (ii) suffering from dementia; what recent representations he has received on the issue; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: On 27 March 2008, the Department and Comic Relief announced 2 million funding for a new joint research initiative to investigate the dignity and safety of older people being cared for in institutional settings. The study will explore the experience of older people, and the staff who care for them, in settings such as care homes, intermediate care and hospitals.
	The new research is likely to run until April 2011. An advertisement inviting tenders to undertake the research was placed in The Guardian newspaper on 4 June 2008, with on-line registration of interest (ROI) required by 23 June.
	It will build on research published in 2007, also funded by the Department and Comic Relief, which examined the prevalence of abuse of older people living in their own homes.
	Although the experience of older people with dementia was not included as a specific aspect in this first study, we envisage that the research in institutional settings will include methods to take account of their experiences.
	A total of 32 ROIs have been received. These will be sifted shortly. Full research applications are due to be received by 27 August 2008.

Eurostar

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department and its agencies spent on  (a) first and  (b) other class travel by Eurostar in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: In the 12 month period from January 2007 to December 2007 the spend on travel by Eurostar for the Department and its agencies is as follows:
	
		
			
			 First class 205,822 
			 Other class 30,252

General Practitioners

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason existing GP practices are not able to expand to meet Government requirements for equitable access.

Ben Bradshaw: The additional funding provided to primary care trusts in poorly served areas is to secure additional new primary care capacity through an open and fair transparent procurement process. This does not preclude existing general practitioner (GP) practices putting forward tenders to expand existing services and capacity that meet local service specifications. Existing GP practices have also seen an increase in investment in their practices of over 50 per cent. since 2003-04 and could have invested more of these resources into increasing available GPs and nurses to local patients but have chosen not to. That continues to be one of the reasons why, since the inception of the national health service, there has been a continuing disparity in the numbers of primary care clinicians practicing between our best and most poorly served areas.

Health Services: Disadvantaged

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he intends to give to the National Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation on the need to protect the flow of funding to those areas with the greatest health deprivation.

Ben Bradshaw: The development of the weighted-capitation formula, used to inform primary care trust (PCT) revenue allocations, is continually overseen by the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA). An independent committee comprising national health service management, general practitioners and academics.
	ACRA's objectives are to develop a funding formula for revenue allocations that:
	ensures equal opportunity of access to health care for people at equal risk; and
	contributes to the reduction in avoidable health inequalities.
	ACRA has recently completed a review of the main elements of the formula. The aim is to publish the outcome of the review alongside the announcement of the 2009-10 and 2010-11 PCT revenue allocations, before summer recess.

Health Services: Yorkshire and the Humber

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to announce his decision on the reconfiguration of maternity and cardiac services in the Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust area.

Ann Keen: We have asked the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) for advice on the proposed changes to maternity services in Scarborough and acute services and coronary care at Bridlington Hospital. We expect to receive advice from the panel over the proposals in relation to Scarborough shortly, and in relation to Bridlington by the end of July.
	We will publish the decisions and the advice we receive from the IRP as soon as we have fully considered the issues. We aim to do this within a month of receiving the IRP's advice.

Health: EU Programme of Community Action

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which programmes are being funded in the UK under the EU Programme of Community Action in the field of health.

Dawn Primarolo: The European Union programme of community action in the field of health funds projects which aim to promote health, to improve citizen's health security and to generate and disseminate health information and knowledge. The programme is funded by the EU and administered by the Public Health Executive Agency (PHEA) of the European Commission. Details of the United Kingdom's involvement in the projects funded under the programme can be found at the following PHEA website at:
	http://ec.europa.eu/phea/index_en.html

Health: Summertime

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the effects on public health of altering the operation of Greenwich Mean Time and British Summer Time.

Dawn Primarolo: None.

HIV Infection

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on surveillance and epidemiology of  (a) HIV,  (b) hepatitis B and  (c) hepatitis C in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Expenditure on surveillance and epidemiology of HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C in 2007 
			million 
			 HIV 1.65 
			 Hepatitis B 0.37 
			 Hepatitis C 0.36 
			  Notes: 1. The HPA, which came into existence in April 2003, is responsible for national surveillance of infectious diseases. Data before 2003 from predecessor organisations are not available. 2. The information requested is not collected routinely by the HPA in the format requested. The HPA has estimated the national costs of HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C surveillance and epidemiology for 2007 using information collected specially for a current evaluation of its surveillance systems. Similar information has not been collected for 2003-06.  Source: Health Protection Agency (HPA)

HIV Infection: Sandwell

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 523-24W, on HIV infection, how many diagnoses  (a) as HIV positive and  (b) of AIDS there have been in Sandwell in the last (i) 30 years and (ii) 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: The available information, which is for Sandwell primary care trust, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  HIV and AIDS diagnoses in Sandwell primary care trust 
			  First diagnosis  Last 30 years  2007 
			 HIV 69 5 
			 AIDS 7 5 
			  Notes: 1. Surveillance for AIDS started in 1982, for HIV in 1984. 2. Figures may include some records of the same individuals, which are unmatched because of difference in the information supplied. 3. Figures for recent years may rise as further reports are received. 4. Data will include individuals who have been infected with HIV outside the United Kingdom, but who have been subsequently diagnosed in the UK. 5. Figures represent persons who were first diagnosed with HIV in the UK within Sandwell, some of these persons may reside outside Sandwell. 6. Data are to the end of December 2007.  Source: Health Protection Agency.

Hospitals: Admissions

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the average cost to the public purse of a patient spending a day in hospital in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The specific information requested cannot be provided, as the average cost of a patient spending a day in hospital is not collected centrally.
	However, information is available on the average cost of a wide range of services provided in hospitals. This information is collected each year through the NHS Reference Costs 2006-07 collection exercise. Copies of the national schedule of NHS Reference Costs for 2006-07 are available in the Library, and is also available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_082571

Liver Diseases

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of screening for liver disease; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: We are concerned about the increasing incidence of and mortality from liver disease. We are already taking action on a number of fronts to combat its primary causesalcohol misuse, viral hepatitis and obesity.
	We recognise that there is strong support for developing a national plan for liver disease. We are investigating the possibility of developing a programme of work, which would cover health promotion and early detection, as well as the full range of health services.
	A full assessment for screening for liver disease would need to be undertaken by the National Screening Committee.

NHS: Drugs

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the reasons for the time taken between the authorisation of orphan and ultra orphan drugs and the availability of these drugs to patients; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has made no specific assessment of the time difference between the market authorisation of orphan and ultra orphan drugs and the availability of these drugs to patients.
	In December 2006, the Government re-issued best practice guidance to the local national health service, which states that funding for treatments should not be withheld simply because guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is unavailable but that decisions should be made on the basis of the available evidence. The guidance also suggests alternative sources of information for NHS organisations to consult in the absence of NICE guidance.

Occupational Therapy

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of occupational therapists who qualified in 2007 and who have not been employed by the NHS.

Ann Keen: On 26 June 2008 there were 64 occupational therapy graduates registered in the newly qualified healthcare professionals pools as looking for their first post in the national health service. Some staff within the pool may have temporary or short-term employment within the NHS. The number who graduated in 2007 is not identified separately.

Ophthalmology

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many requests for exceptional funding  (a) in total and  (b) for ophthalmological procedures have been granted by the Wiltshire Primary Care Trust Exceptions Committee in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not collected centrally. It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to commission services on behalf of their population and to make decisions locally on which treatments to fund, taking into account all available evidence. The hon. Member may therefore wish to raise this with the chief executive of Wiltshire PCT.

Pharmacy

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pharmacies have  (a) opened and  (b) closed in each constituency in each year since 1997-98.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on the number of pharmacies at constituency level that open and close is not collected centrally by the Department. The Information Centre for health and social care has information by individual English primary care trust (PCT), since March 2004.
	Tables have been placed in the Library, which provide the numbers of pharmacies that have opened and closed in the three most recently available financial years and take account of the reorganisation of PCTs in October 2006.

Speech Therapy

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of speech and language therapists who qualified in 2007 and have not been employed by the NHS.

Ann Keen: On 26 June 2008 there were 21 speech and language therapy graduates registered in the newly qualified healthcare professionals pools as looking for their first post in the national health service. Some staff within the pool may have temporary or short-term employment within the NHS. The number who graduated in 2007 is not identified separately.

Stem Cells: Research

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much public funding was spent on  (a) human embryonic stem cell research and  (b) adult stem cell research in each financial year since 1999.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Mark Simmonds) on 14 May 2008,  Official Report, column 1650W, which contains the most recent data available to the Department on stem cell research funding.

Transsexuality: Surgery

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many sex change operations were performed in London in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested can be found in the following table.
	The table shows the total number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) when an operative procedure for sexual transformation has been performed by hospital providers in London for the years 2002-03 to 2006-07. The information provided is held at trust level.
	
		
			  National health service hospitals England and activity performed in the independent sector in England commissioned by the English NHS 
			  Hospital provider  FCEs 
			  2002-03  
			 Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 75 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Trust  
			 Newham Healthcare NHS Trust  
			   
			  2003-04  
			 Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 83 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Trust  
			   
			  2004-05  
			 Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 97 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 7 
			   
			  2005-06  
			 Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 101 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust  
			 Whipps Cross Hospital NHS Trust  
			  2006-07  
			 Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 118 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust  
			  Notes: Low numbers 1. Due to reasons of confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been suppressed and replaced with a ''. Data quality 2. HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts, and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data are also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  3. Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. During the years that these records have been collected the NHS there have been ongoing improvements in quality and coverage. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example a number of procedures may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and may no longer be accounted in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time. 4. FCE A FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.  5. FCE with an operative procedure A count of FCEs with an operative procedure is the number of FCEs where the procedure was mentioned in any of the 12 (four prior to 2002-03) operative procedure fields in a HES record. A record is only included once in each count, even if the procedure is mentioned in more than one operative procedure field of the record. More procedures are carried out than FCE with an operation. For example, patients under going a cataract operation would tend to have at least two proceduresremoval of the faulty lens and the fitting of a new onecounted in a single finished consultant episode. 6. Changes to coding classifications Operative procedure codes were revised for 2006-07. The 2006-07 codes enable the recording of interventions and procedures which were not possible in earlier years. These changes need to be borne in mind when analysing time series and may explain any growth over time. 7. Further information on the code changes can be found at: www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care.

University College Hospital: Inspections

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints were  (a) made and  (b) upheld (i) at local level and (ii) by the Health Service Commissioner arising from services provided by University College Hospital in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: Information is not collected in the format requested.
	Data are available on number of written complaints at national health service trust level, not at individual hospital level. University College Hospital is one of seven hospitals comprising University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The following table shows the number of written complaints received by the Trust for 2002-03 to 2006-07, the latest available information.
	
		
			  Number of written complaints about hospital and community services, 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 374 480 590 745 664 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care. 
		
	
	Information about the number of complaints upheld by the Trust is not collected centrally. The hon. Member may therefore wish to raise this issue locally.
	The health service commissioner (ombudsman) may carry out independent investigations of complaints about the NHS. This is the third stage of the NHS complaints procedure, after local resolution by the NHS organisation concerned and independent review by the Healthcare Commission. As the ombudsman is independent of the NHS, the hon. Member may wish to raise this issue directly with the ombudsman's office.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Council Tax

Ann Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent estimate he has made of the average proportion of household incomes which will be paid in council tax in 2008-09.

Tom Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated June 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what recent assessment has been made of the average proportion of household budgets which will be paid in council tax in 2008-09. (214855)
	Estimates of tax payments by households are provided in the Office for National Statistics analysis 'The effects of taxes and benefits on household income'. The most recent edition was published on the National Statistics website on 25th June 2008 at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/taxesbenefits, and contained data for the year 2006/07. The analysis is based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey, which is a sample survey covering approximately 6,000 households in the UK.
	In 2006/07, on average a household in the United Kingdom paid 2.8 per cent of their gross income in Council Tax (or Rates in Northern Ireland). This figure takes into account the deduction of discounts and Council Tax Benefit (or Rate Rebates).

Departmental Domestic Visits

Phil Willis: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what visits he made to  (a) Harrogate International Centre,  (b) International Conference Centre, Birmingham,  (c) Manchester Central,  (d) Scottish Exhibitional and Conference Centre, Glasgow,  (e) Edinburgh International Conference Centre,  (f) Bournemouth International Conference Centre,  (g) the Brighton Centre, Brighton,  (h) the Riviera Centre, Torquay,  (i) Queen Elizabeth Centre, London,  (j) Excel Conference Centre, Docklands, London, and  (k) Business Design Centre, Islington, London, in the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007; and what events he attended at each.

Edward Miliband: During the period since my appointment as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and 31 December 2007, I have visited the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre, London to attend the National Children's Bureau summer reception on 19 June, and the Cabinet Office All Staff conference on 9 July 2007.

Food

James Paice: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  how much was spent by his Department on  (a) food and  (b) food of British origin in each of the last five years;
	(2)  from which five countries of origin the greatest amount of food was procured by his Department in the last year for which figures are available; and what the  (a) cost and  (b) quantity procured was in each case.

Phil Hope: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Cabinet Office supports the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative and works with its Facilities Management providers to encourage their suppliers to increase opportunities for more small and local producers to join their supply chains.

Pensioners

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what percentage of the population in  (a) Leeds West,  (b) Leeds Metropolitan District and  (c) the UK were over 60 years of age in (i) 1981, (ii) 1991 and (iii) 2001.

Tom Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 1 July 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question on what the percentage of the population in (a) Leeds West, (b) Leeds Metropolitan District and (c) the UK were over 60 years of age in (i) 1981, (ii) 1991 and (iii) 2001. (215408)
	The table below shows the percentage of population aged 60 and over for the United Kingdom, Leeds and Leeds West for 1981, 1991 and 2001. Figures for the United Kingdom and Leeds are mid-year population estimates; figures for Leeds West are Census data as mid-year estimates are not available for parliamentary constituencies for 1981 and 1991.
	
		
			  Percentage of the population aged 60 and over for the United Kingdom and Leeds 
			   Percentage of population 60+ 
			  Mid-year  1981  1991  2001 
			 United Kingdom 20 21 21 
			 Leeds 21 21 20 
			 Leeds West(1) 21 21 18 
			 (1) Mid-year population estimates are not available for 1981 and 1991. For comparability census data are supplied for all three years.  Notes: 1. Leeds Metropolitan district had been interpreted as Leeds local authority. 2. Percentages have been calculated to include the age 60.  Source: Office for National Statistics, General Register Office for Scotland and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

JUSTICE

Departmental Retirement

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the standard retirement age in his Department is; and how many people in his Department and its predecessor worked beyond the standard retirement age in each of the last five years.

Michael Wills: Employment terms and conditions, including retirement age, is delegated to individual departments and agencies under the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992 as set out in Chapter 11 of the Civil Service Management Code.
	The Ministry of Justice was created on 9 May 2007 bringing together the former Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) and National Offender Management Service, including the Prison and Probation Services, and is the host department for the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. These organisations still operate separate terms and conditions and therefore the responses are separate.
	 Former Department of Constitutional Affairs and Agencies
	Under the national retirement policy, all employees have the right to retire at the age of 60 and receive an occupational pension. Employees may retire at an earlier age under the provisions of the Superannuation Act 1972 and the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) relating to preserved pension rights. Nothing in the former Department for Constitutional Affairs retirement policy affects the rights of employees under the national retirement policy.
	The standard or normal retirement age for all established employees is between 60 and 65, depending on the date of appointment to the employees grade (except for those staff who did not accept the new harmonised terms and conditions in The Deal new pay arrangements for 2007). The senior civil service normal retirement age is currently 65. Legacy arrangements exist for staff who joined prior to 1 April 1999, with retirement ages ranging between 60 and 65.
	
		
			  Normal retirement age for employees appointed on or after 1 April 1999 
			  Pay span  Normal retirement age 
			 Bands E-F 65 
			 Band D 62 
			 Spans A-C 60 
		
	
	 Judges  c lerks
	The normal retirement age for judges clerks is 65 and they may work until the end of the legal year in which they reach 65. The director of the Supreme Court has discretion to authorise their employment for up to a further three years if their judge wishes them to stay on.
	 Staff working beyond normal retirement date
	The following table sets out the number of staff within the former Department for Constitutional Affairs and its Agencies, who were working beyond the normal retirement age for their grade, on 31 March for each year that accurate figures are available.
	
		
			   Staff working beyond normal retirement age 
			 31 March 2007 (1)1,100 
			 31 March 2008 657 
			 (1 )All magistrates staff above the normal retirement age of 60 are included irrespective of their equivalent government grade. 
		
	
	 Her Majesty's Prison Service
	The standard, or normal, retirement age of Prison Service staff is currently 65. The normal retirement age has altered over the past five years. The following table sets out the number of staff, on 31 March each year, who were working beyond the normal retirement age for their grade in each of the last five years.
	
		
			   Staff working beyond normal retirement age 
			 31 March 2004 1,550 
			 31 March 2005 1,732 
			 31 March 2006 1,448 
			 31 March 2007 90 
			 31 March 2008 187 
		
	
	 National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform
	The normal retirement age for staff is 65, but they have the option to take their pension and retire at the age of 60 and can, exceptionally, work until the age of 70 subject to certain conditions.
	
		
			   Staff working beyond normal retirement age 
			 31 March 2006 (1)10 
			 31 March 2007 0 
			 31 March 2008 2 
			 (1 )Female age 60 and male 65 (prior to October 2006)Staff numbers for year 2005-06 is higher in comparison to other years. Prior to Cabinet Office Employment Equality Regulations October 2006 female retirement age was 60 and therefore are included in the calculation for year 2005-06. We're unable to provide data prior to 2005 because of data migration to a new system.

Fines: Surcharges

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much revenue from the victim surcharge was distributed in each year to 2007-08, broken down by Government Office region; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice included the receipts collected from the Victims Surcharge, as an appropriation in aid, in its estimates for 2007-08. Under spending plans, funding was committed as follows:
	3 million to the then Department for Constitutional Affairs (now the Ministry of Justice) to fund Independent Domestic Violence Adviser Services. A breakdown by Government Office region of the grants made to individual organisations was given in a written answer by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice (Bridget Prentice) to the hon. Member for North-West Norfolk (Mr. Bellingham) on 20 May 2008,  Official Report, columns 272-75W.
	3 million to the Crown Prosecution Service as a contribution to the cost of providing Witness Care Units under the 'No Witness No Justice' initiative. There are 165 Witness Care Units across England and Wales, including all the Government Office regions, funded partly by the Crown Prosecution Service and partly by individual police forces from general budgets. It is not possible to indicate a specific allocation provided to each region from Victims Surcharge receipts as the allocation of funding has been made on a national basis.
	5.6 million through the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, to the Victim Support National Centre to fund the national roll-out of enhanced services to victims and witnesses under the Victim Support Plus initiative. This grant was used by Victim Support to implement the new service delivery model across their business as they saw fit. It is not possible to indicate a specific allocation provided to each region from Victim Surcharge receipts as the allocation of funding has been made on a national basis.
	1.75 million through the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, to the Victims Fund to support victims of sexual violence and abuse, homicide and hate crime. The tables show the distribution of that money in 2007-08.
	
		
			  Victims fund  grants made in 2007-08 towards support for victims of sexual violence and abuse 
			  Government Office Region   
			  London  
			 Respond 50,000 
			 One-in-Four 48,510 
			 Lilith Project Eaves Housing 30,104 
			 Step Forward 32,190 
			 Galop 35,122 
			  National Coverage  
			 CIS'ters 37,088 
			 Voice UK 28,000 
			 Survivors UK 30,000 
			  North East  
			 Women's Support Network 28,038 
			 Redcar and Cleveland Women's Aid 41,724 
			  East  
			 South Essex Rape and Crisis Centre (SERICC) 49,291 
			 HEAL (Helping Everyone Abused Live) 38,038 
			 Colchester Rape Crisis Line 21,931 
			  North West  
			 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre Cheshire and Merseyside (Previously Warrington Rape Crisis) 35,370 
			 Manchester Rape Crisis 25,635 
			  South East  
			 RASAC- Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Service (Winchester) 26,000 
			 SurvivorsNetwork 10,406 
			 Southampton Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre 47,804 
			 No Limits 26,000 
			  Yorkshire and Humberside  
			 Bradford Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Survivors Service 45,106 
			 Doncaster Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre 44,607 
			 Grimsby and Scunthorpe Rape Crisis 49,146 
			 Sheffield Women's Counselling and Therapy Service 18,672 
			  SouthWest  
			 WomanKind (Bristol Women's Therapy Centre) 41,202 
			 Survivors Swindon 35,900 
			 Plymouth Rape and Sexual Abuse Line 12,450 
			 Twelve's Company 35,827 
			  Womens Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre Cornwall (WRASAC) 32,416 
			  West Midlands  
			 Sexual and Domestic Abuse and Rape Advise Centre (SARAC) 15,250 
			 Worcestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre 28,445 
			 Coventry Rape Crisis 35,424 
			 The Rape and Sexual Abuse Violence Project (Birmingham) 21,090 
			  South Wales  
			 New Pathways 23,660 
			  North Wales  
			 Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (North Wales) 25,525 
			  East Midlands  
			 Derbyshire Rape Crisis 19,450 
			 Nottingham Rape Crisis 41,108 
			 Sexual abuse and Incest Line (SAIL) 17,767 
			 Northamptonshire Rape and Incest Crisis 20,000 
			 Crisis Point 15,368 
			 Walsall Street Teams ( The Jigsaw Project) 30,000 
			 Total: 1,249,664 
		
	
	
		
			  Victims fund grants made in 2007-08 towards support for victims of homicide 
			  Government Office Region   
			  London  
			 Victims of Crime Trust 17,724 
			 Victim Support London 25,620 
			  North East  
			 National Victims Association 25,000 
			 Victim Support and Witness Service 3,980 
			  East  
			 Barnardos 27,455 
			 Victim Support Bedfordshire 7,313 
			  North West  
			 Greater Manchester Police 40,000 
			 SAMM Merseyside 18,950 
			  South East  
			 The Child Bereavement Trust 18,710 
			  Yorkshire and Humberside  
			 SAMM South Yorkshire 2,868 
			 West Yorkshire Police 13,000 
			  South West  
			 Winston's Wish 49,380 
			 Total: 250,000 
		
	
	
		
			  Victims f undgrants made in 2007-08 towards support for victims of hate crime 
			  Government Office Region   
			  London  
			 Greenwich Action Committee Against Racial Attacks 29,515 
			 Stonewall 26,900 
			 Hounslow Community Safety Partnership 15,000 
			  East  
			 North Herts People First 24,475 
			 Bedfordshire Hate Crime Partnership 15,000 
			  North West  
			 Liverpool Culture Company 25,000 
			 Rochdale Borough Council 7,515 
			 Victim Support Greater Manchester 20,000 
			  South East  
			 Partnership Community Safety Team 20,000 
			 Victim Support Kent 3,640 
			 Gender Identity Research and Education Society 2,750 
			 BMEYPP 9,190 
			  Yorkshire and Humberside  
			 Kirklees Safer Communities Partnership 15,000 
			 InclusionNorth 27,200 
			 Bradford Hate Crime Allowance 15,000 
			  South West  
			 The Intercom Trust 28,920 
			  East Midlands  
			 Northamptonshire Hate Crime Forum 15,000 
			 Total: 300,105(1) 
			 (1 )Excess over 250,000 added from Home Office budget.

Judges: Official Residences

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much has been spent from the public purse on security measures at residences of judges in the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Over the last five full financial years, the money spent on security measures at the residences of judges is as set out in the following table. These figures are for the domestic residences of judicial office holders; they do not include judicial lodgings. Figures include VAT.
	
		
			
			 2003-04 9,806.60 
			 2004-05 25,814.50 
			 2005-06 4,912.83 
			 2006-07 9,057.20 
			 2007-08 3,174.99 
		
	
	So far this financial year, no money has been spent from the public purse on security measures at the residences of judges.
	The security of the Justice system and of judicial office-holders is of paramount importance but expenditure on security measures at judicial homes is only undertaken after risk assessment confirms a significant threat.

Juries

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance he issues to courts on precautions to be taken to ensure that members of the public undertaking jury service do not have criminal records.

Maria Eagle: Potential jurors must respond to their summons by completing and returning to the Jury Central Summoning Bureau (JCSB) a questionnaire declaring their eligibility and availability for jury service. When the juror has responded to their summons, their details will be checked against the police national computer (PNC).
	There will be occasions where a juror does not respond to their summons but does attend court for their jury service. In these cases, courts have been instructed that under Section 2 (5) of the Juries Act 1974 as amended by the Administration of Justice Act 1982, the juror should be asked to complete the confirmation form attached to the jury summons to declare their eligibility on their arrival at court. The court will then ensure a PNC check is undertaken to confirm the person is not disqualified to serve as a juror. If the juror is not qualified to serve, they will be released from jury service.

Parc Young Offender Institution

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 845-7W, on young offender institutions: mental health services, how many young people have been transferred from Parc Young Offender Institution to specialist NHS secure hospital units for under 18 year olds in England.

Maria Eagle: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 11 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 316-17W.

Prisoners

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average annual prison population was in England and Wales in each year since 1990.

David Hanson: The information requested is published in the supplementary table 8.8, Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2006, available via the Library of the House and from the Ministry of Justice website at:
	www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonandprobation.htm
	The following table shows the average population (average of end-month data) of all prison establishments in England and Wales between 1990 and 2006:
	
		
			  Prison population( 1, 2)  1990 to 2006: England and Wales 
			   Total 
			 1990 44,975 
			 1991 44,809 
			 1992 44,719 
			 1993 44,552 
			 1994 48,621 
			 1995 50,962 
			 1996 55,281 
			 1997 61,114 
			 1998 65,298 
			 1999 64,771 
			 2000 64,602 
			 2001 66,301 
			 2002 70,778 
			 2003 73,038 
			 2004 74,657 
			 2005 75,979 
			 2006 78,127 
			 (1) Annual average population (2) Excludes police cells 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prospects Project: Exeter

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were referred to the Prospects Project in Exeter; how many people attended; and how much the project has cost to date.

David Hanson: The project in Exeter opened in December 2005 and received 279 referrals up until February 2008, of the 279 referrals 132 were admitted to the project. The building costs of the project were 1.814 million and operational costs have been in the region of 1.9 million which includes the cost of termination and compensation costs. Future use of the premises to ensure best use of capital expended is currently under consideration.

Small Claims

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of  (a) the number of false claims made in the small claims court and  (b) the number of such false claims which have led to defendants gaining poor credit ratings in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Bridget Prentice: The Ministry of Justice does not hold data explicitly on alleged false claims issued in the civil courts.
	However, provisional figures for 2007 indicate that there were 26,203 county court judgments that were 'set aside' following a successful application to the court. These judgments relate to a total of 24,278 claims made for amounts of 5,000 or less. Across all county court claims (regardless of value) there were 988,000 judgments registered with Registry Trust Limited in 2007.
	In almost all 'set aside' cases, the initial judgment will have been made in favour of the claimant, and the application to set aside the judgment will have been made by the defendant. A judgment can be set aside for a number of reasons, including where it was originally made in error or where the defendant has paid the amount claimed in full. A 'set aside' judgment does not imply that the initial claim was issued falsely or maliciously.
	All county court judgments are registered by Registry Trust Limited and the register is available for searches (upon payment of a fee) by credit reference agencies and other interested parties. However, all registered judgments are automatically cancelled by Registry Trust Limited if they are set aside by a court, and they will therefore not appear in any subsequent register searches.

Witnesses: Protection

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what steps he will take to ensure that a balance is achieved between the need to protect witnesses in the prosecution of dangerous criminals and the defendant's rights when considering new legislation on witness anonymity;
	(2)  what plans he has to introduce legislation on witness anonymity; if he will make it his policy to ensure that such anonymity remains an option in certain circumstances; and what his policy is regarding witnesses who are  (a) children,  (b) members of the security services and  (c) police informants.

Jack Straw: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement I gave on 26 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 514-16.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

BBC External Services: Broadcasting Programmes

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what records he holds of viewing figures for BBC World TV in  (a) 2005,  (b) 2006 and  (c) 2007, broken down by country.

Andy Burnham: My Department does not hold the viewing figures requested.

BBC External Services: Broadcasting Programmes

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what records he holds on the profits derived from the broadcasting of BBC World TV in  (a) 2005,  (b) 2006 and  (c) 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Financial information on BBC World News for 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 is included in the BBC's annual reports and accounts for those years.

BBC External Services: Broadcasting Programmes

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the funding arrangements for BBC World TV.

Andy Burnham: BBC World News is commercially funded. No licence fee funding is used, as this is not permitted under the terms of the BBC's Charter and Agreement.

Departmental NDPBs

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the maximum per item expenditure limit for each of his Department's non-departmental public bodies is before a  (a) Departmental,  (b) Ministerial and  (c) HM Treasury sign-off is required.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 25 June 2008
	Following approval of their budgets, our non-departmental public bodies have authority to incur expenditure without further reference to this Department, subject to the delegated limits set out in their financial memoranda. I am arranging for copies of these to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	Treasury approval is required for: capital projects of 6 million and above, or which exceed limits set out in the relevant financial memoranda where these are higher; gifts and non-statutory contingent liabilities of 100,000 and above; and any expenditure that could set a potentially expensive precedent, cause repercussions for others, or are novel or contentious.
	Departmental decisions are normally handled at official level. Ministers might be involved in cases for which there are particular sensitivities.

Departmental Retirement

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the standard retirement age in his Department is; and how many people worked beyond the standard retirement age in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The current mandatory retirement age in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is 65.
	In the last five years two staff have been allowed to work beyond 65one in 2005 and one earlier this year.

National Lottery: British Overseas Territories

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether National Lottery outlets may be established in British overseas territories.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The location of national lottery retailers is a commercial matter for the operator, Camelot, subject to the requirements of its licences and other legal obligations.
	Camelot is prohibited by its licences from selling national lottery tickets for draw-based games outside of the European economic area (EEA), unless it has the prior consent of the National Lottery Commission. To date, the National Lottery Commission has not been asked to provide such consent. The operator is not prohibited by its licence from selling national lottery scratchcards outside of the EEA.

Reaching Communities Scheme: Big Lottery Fund

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the sum to be distributed from the Big Lottery Fund in the 12 months to 31 December 2008; and what proportion of such funding will be available to the Reaching Communities scheme.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Lottery grant decisions, and estimates of expenditure, are made independent of Government by distributors like the Big Lottery Fund (BIG). For the 12 month period up to 31 December 2008, England wide, BIG estimates it will:
	distribute 423 million to good causes through all programmes; and
	distribute 62.3 million through the Reaching Communities programme, this is equal to 14.7 per cent. of the total allocation.

Sport Action Zones

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when and by whom the decision was taken to close sport action zone schemes.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England has advised that the 12 sport action zones were established and funded for a five-year period. There was no intention to fund this programme beyond this period. The expectation was that the type of interventions which they promoted would be picked up by mainstream initiatives.

Sports: Finance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by Sport England through the Community Projects Capital Fund in each year since 1999; and what proportion was spent on projects requiring funding under 100,000 in each year.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The amount spent by Sport England through the Community Projects Capital Fund in each year since 1999, and the proportion that was spent on projects requiring funding under 100,000, as provided by Sport England, is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Amount spent through Community Projects Capital Fund  Proportion spent on projects requiring funding under 100,000 (percentage) 
			 1999-2000 129,717,514 4.65 
			 2000-01 124,323,327 3.13 
			 2001-02 156,048,744 2.40 
			 2002-03 95,773,582 5.30 
			 2003-04 67,839,120 1.24 
			 2004-05 39,016,890 1.65 
			 2005-06 9,305,108 2.29 
			 2006-07 2,602,871 0.99

Sports: Finance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Sport England distributed through its Awards for All fund in each year since 1999.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England has advised that it allocated the following amounts through its Awards for All fund in each year since 1999:
	
		
			  Financial year  Amount allocated ( ) 
			 1999-2000 7,009,847 
			 2000-01 12,129,636 
			 2001-02 13,781,959 
			 2002-03 15,549,974 
			 2003-04 15,788,577 
			 2004-05 7,726,035 
			 2005-06 9,800,311 
			 2006-07 14,192,868 
			 2007-08 11,291,578

Sports: Finance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of Sport England's funding has been spent on schemes that significantly increased the participation of women and girls in sport since 1999.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England does not record information on which groups funding is focused. Therefore, it is not possible to calculate the proportion of Sport England's total funding spent on schemes that significantly increase the participation of women and girls in sport since 1999.
	From 2005-06 to 2007-08 the public service agreement for sport was to increase participation in sport by 3 per cent. by priority groups; one of which was women.
	In future, under the new Sport England strategy launched on 10 June, increasing participation by women will continue to be a key priority. To support increases in participation by women and girls Sport England will provide 1.6 million funding for the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation between 2005 and 2009.
	In order to receive funding from 2009-11, national governing bodies of sport will be required to develop plans for increasing women's participation in sport.

Sports: Finance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many awards Sport England made to projects that significantly benefited people from ethnic communities in each year since 1999.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England does not record information on which groups funding is focused. Therefore, it is not possible to give a figure for the number of awards made by Sport England to projects that have significantly benefited people from ethnic communities in each year since 1999.
	From 2005-06  2007-08 the public service agreement for sport was to increase participation in sport by 3 per cent. by priority groups one of which was ethnic minorities.
	In future, under the new Sport England strategy launched on 10 June, increasing participation by ethnic minorities will continue to be a key priority. To support increases in participation by ethnic minorities Sport England has in the last three years provided a total of 1,014,829 funding for sporting equals.
	In order to receive funding from 2009-11, national governing bodies of sport will be required to develop plans for increasing ethnic minorities' participation in sport.

Sports: Finance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many awards Sport England made to projects that significantly benefited disabled people in each year since 1999.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England does not record information on which groups funding is focused. Therefore, it is not possible to give a figure for the number of awards made by Sport England to projects that have significantly benefited disabled people in each year since 1999.
	From 2005-062007-08 the public service agreement for sport was to increase participation in sport by 3 per cent. by priority groups, one of which was disabled people.
	In future, under the new Sport England strategy launched on 10 June, increasing participation by disabled people will continue to be a key priority. To support increases in participation by disabled people, Sport England provided 4,111,399 to the English Federation of Disability Sport between 2005 and 2008, and have invested approximately 8,000,000 in the inclusive fitness initiative (IFI) which is a gym-based-project to ensure disabled people can take part in gym based exercise.
	In order to receive funding from 2009-11, national governing bodies of sport will be required to develop plans for increasing disabled people's participation in sport.

Sports: Finance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of Sport England's funding has been spent on the World Class programme since 1999.

Gerry Sutcliffe: On 1 April 2006 the responsibility for funding the World Class programme passed to UK Sport. The proportion of Sport England's funding that has been spent on the World Class programme from 1999 to 2006, as provided by Sport England is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Percentage of funding spent on the World Class programme 
			 1999-2000 8.92 
			 2000-01 36.93 
			 2001-02 17.83 
			 2002-03 30.01 
			 2003-04 18.54 
			 2004-05 6.14 
			 2005-06 0.33

Swimming

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by what procedure local authorities will be able to apply for funds for the provision of free access to swimming pools; and what steps he is taking to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to make such provision.

Andy Burnham: We are working with the Amateur Swimming Association, the Local Government Association, Sport England and others to develop the arrangements for implementing the scheme. Part of this will involve looking at how the offer can best be delivered depending on local provision.
	We will issue guidance to local authorities as early as possible and, in any event, in plenty of time to allow them to prepare for setting budgets in the autumn.
	I will make a further statement, outlining progress, before the House rises for summer recess.

Swimming: Greater London

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions the Government had with  (a) the London Borough of Sutton,  (b) other London councils and  (c) the Local Government Association on free swimming proposals prior to his announcement of the policy.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prior to the announcement, Government discussed their proposals for the free swimming offer with the Local Government Association and a number of individual local authorities in London and elsewhere. There were no individual discussions with the London borough of Sutton.

Television: Licensing

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will estimate the cost of reducing the colour television licence fee to the same level as the black and white television licence for people 60 years old and over.

Andy Burnham: The cost of reducing as proposed the licence fee for those aged 60 and over is estimated to be broadly in the region of 450-500 million per annum.

Television: Licensing

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the cost of extending the free television licence to all pensioner households.

Andy Burnham: The cost of extending free television licences to all households containing an individual of state pension age is estimated to be broadly in the region of 600-650 million per annum.

Television: Telephone Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what meetings  (a) he and  (b) his representatives have had with (i) the BBC, (ii) ITV, (iii) GMTV and (iv) other television broadcasters in the last 12 months on television broadcaster misconduct in the use of premium rate telephone services in viewer competitions and voting.

Andy Burnham: My predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (James Purnell), and I have had regular meetings with BBC, ITV and other broadcasters over the last 12 months during which premium rate telephone service issues have been discussed from time to time. Officials in the Department also have regular meetings with these broadcasters and have discussed these issues from time to time.

Xansa

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what contracts his Department has signed with Xansa plc in the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department has not signed any contracts with Xansa plc in the last five years.

Xansa

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what payments were made by his Department to Xansa plc in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has made no payments to Xansa plc in the last five years.